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Surprising turnaround in the Leon (6) case: Father remains in custody - his wife continues to stand by him

2023-03-03T11:18:13.013Z


After months of investigations into the death of Leon (6), investigators surprisingly arrest the boy's father. The suspect's lawyer is now speaking out.


After months of investigations into the death of Leon (6), investigators surprisingly arrest the boy's father.

The suspect's lawyer is now speaking out.

Update from March 3, 11:45 a.m .:

The allegations against the father of the drowned Leon (6) are serious.

He is suspected of murder.

Nevertheless, the mother of the dead child stands by her husband.

"He has the support of his wife and his whole family, but he is cut off from this personal support," Hubert Stanglechner, the suspect's lawyer, told

Bild

.

He wished to be able to return home to his wife and daughter, but he is not allowed to.

The reason for this is that the judge is considering the possibility that the 38-year-old is influencing witnesses.

According to the newspaper, it is obviously about Leon's supervisors in particular.

The lawyer rated this as "absurd" and "simply absurd to assume such a thing".

"These witnesses are questioned under the obligation to tell the truth, and if they are then asked, you have spoken to the accused and it would come out that he actually tried to influence you in some direction - that would be fatal for the outcome of the proceedings.

Then his credibility would be completely ruined."

The lawyer takes a similar stance on the judge's argument that the father could commit a similar act again (see previous update).

"There is absolutely no evidence for that," Stanglechner told

Bild

.

Turnaround in the Leon (6) case: father in custody – judge sees a risk that he will commit another crime

Update from March 2, 12:33 p.m .:

After the arrest of the father of the six-year-old Leon, who drowned in Tyrol, the judge apparently sees the danger that the 38-year-old could commit another crime.

This was stated by the spokesman for the public prosecutor, Hansjörg Mayr, at the request of the Austrian news agency APA.

This is what the somewhat awkward-sounding phrase “risk of committing an act” means.

The investigations continue.

In two weeks, the arrest of the father, who is an urgent suspect, will be tried again.

Mayr emphasized that everything that could "exonerate the man and present the suspicion differently" is taken into account.

Father of drowned Leon arrested in Austria - detention ordered

Update from March 2nd, 10.40 a.m .:

The father of Leon (6), who drowned six months ago, is taken into custody.

That was decided by a magistrate on Thursday morning in Tyrol.

This is initially valid for 14 days, after which a new detention hearing is planned.

According to the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office, the judge justified the pre-trial detention with the fact that there is a risk of collusion and a risk of committing a crime.

The 38-year-old was arrested on Monday morning but vehemently denies killing his sick son.

Tyrol: turning point in the case of the drowned Leon (6) – father arrested surprisingly

Original message

: Innsbruck – Has Leon become a victim of his own father?

The investigators who want to clarify the death of the six-year-old in August last year apparently have this suspicion.

At that time, the mentally handicapped boy who had to use a pram was found dead in the Kitzbüheler Ache in St. Johann in Tirol, where he had drowned.

"Several pieces of evidence have now come together to form a picture that corroborates the urgent suspicion," said a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the father is under urgent suspicion of murder.

However, the 38-year-old does not confess and sticks to his portrayal.

Leon's father suspected of murder: the six-year-old died on a morning walk

The man, who grew up in Hesse and lives in Austria, is said to have been hit by a stranger with a bottle while walking with Leon and robbed while unconscious.

According to him, the child got out of the stroller and fell into the river.

Around 80 minutes after the alleged crime - at 5.20 in the morning - the suspect was found unconscious by a passer-by.

Leon's parents, who very likely would never have been able to speak because of a rare genetic defect, addressed the public with emotional words and later even promised 30,000 euros as a reward for decisive information about the perpetrator.

Suspected father's lawyer: "Supposed to have killed son to put him out of his misery"

Around half a year later, the 38-year-old was arrested "suddenly and surprisingly", his defense attorney Hubert Stanglechner was quoted as saying by the

Kronen-Zeitung

.

"He is accused of killing his son and throwing him in the Ache to put him out of his misery," the lawyer said.

His client was interrogated on Tuesday, and he "vehemently" denied the allegations, "according to his statement, of course he didn't kill his son himself, that was completely absurd, he loved his son".

+

Action before the Enlightenment?

After the death of little Leon, his father is suspected of murder.

© Georg Koechler/dpa

Did father kill Leon?

Lawyer names three pieces of evidence and presents counter-arguments

According to the report, Stanglechner emphasized that there was no evidence to support the investigators' conclusion.

However, these are based on three indicators.

There would be the murder weapon: "On the one hand, my client is accused of having carried the bottle with which he was knocked down in the stroller himself." According to the police, a video from a surveillance camera shows that the bottle was in the buggy.

However, an evaluation of the video by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) sowed doubts about the police version.

"According to this report, one cannot say that it is actually such a bottle," the defense attorney gives an insight into the result of the investigation.

Investigators rely on cell phone data: did Leon's father throw his cell phone in the trash can?

Another allegation by the investigators is that Leon's father "threw his cell phone himself in the trash can at the scene of the crime".

The pedometer installed on the phone was last saved two hours before the cell phone was found.

However, according to the Kronen-Zeitung,

Stanglechner

points out that "there are also results from the criminal police that half an hour later my client had his mobile phone in use and was therefore on the Internet".

It must therefore be technically checked why “this pedometer app was not saved at this time”.

According to the lawyer, "it is by no means the case that one can assume at this point in time that our client disposed of the mobile phone in the garbage can himself".

Investigators doubt Leon's father's injuries: lawyer questions procedure

The third indication relates to the injuries of the 38-year-old.

As Stanglechner explains, according to an expert report, these "cannot really be reconciled with the facts".

The body temperature measured during the first aid was "too high for it to have been there for a long time".

But this point is also not valid for the defense attorney: “In truth, however, it is not clear how long my client was unconscious at the scene of the crime.

No one claims it lain there long.”

Suspicion against Leon's father: lawyer refers to progress in the boy found dead

For him it is therefore clear: "All these indications are not sustainable." For Stanglechner, the suspicion of Leon's father is downright "shocking".

Especially since there have recently been positive signals for the family that "his son's illness has improved over time".

The parents no longer felt as alone as before: "Everything has developed in the right direction."

A leading scientist even had hopes of curing the so-called syngap syndrome.

For Leon's parents, this development was "their drive and their optimism".

The public prosecutor's office gave no further details on the suspicion against the 38-year-old.

The regional court must now decide by Thursday evening whether the man will spend the next few days in custody or remain at large.

(mg)

List of rubrics: © Georg Köchler/dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-03-03

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