Quarantine breaker in Austria faces charges of negligent homicide
Pensioner dies of Corona – investigation against neighbor
In Austria, a woman breaks the corona quarantine. Shortly thereafter, her neighbor also contracted the virus – and died. Now the woman is being investigated for grossly negligent homicide.
In December 2021, an Austrian woman contracted Corona. Despite the quarantine rule in force at the time, she left her apartment several times. Neighbors kept complaining because they found the patient indoors and outdoors.
A little later, a pensioner who lived in the same house also became infected. According to the Austrian newspaper “Heute”, it is likely that he got infected when he met his neighbor, for example in the stairwell. Because the man’s condition continued to deteriorate, he had to be hospitalized. He finally died there in mid-January 2022.
Pensioner almost certainly infected by neighbor
The neighbors of the infected Austrian had already informed the local health authority about the quarantine violation. The public prosecutor’s office is now launching an investigation against the woman. The accusation is grossly negligent homicide and intentional endangerment of the community through communicable diseases.
As a spokesman for the responsible public prosecutor’s office explained to the “Kleine Zeitung”, a medical expert was commissioned with the case. He found that the coronavirus strain found in the pensioner “with a probability bordering on certainty” came from his neighbor.
In the ongoing investigation, numerous documents still have to be secured and witnesses questioned. It is the first case in Austria in which Corona is cited as a “weapon”. The suspect is also pending questioning. Only then will it be decided whether there will actually be an indictment. (obf)