Criminal case Julia Kührer
The criminal case Julia Kührer began with the sudden disappearance of the 16-year-old Julia Kührer (* May 29, 1990 ; † 2006 ) from Pulkau ( Lower Austria ) in June 2006. The search that then began was unsuccessful. On June 30, 2011, her skeleton was found in a cellar in Dietmannsdorf ( municipality of Zellerndorf ), not far from Kührer's hometown.
chronology
Disappear
Julia Kührer disappeared without a trace on Tuesday, June 27, 2006. She was last seen getting off a bus at around 1:30 p.m. that same day. After that she is said to have talked to three young people who got out of a silver car. Then their track was lost. Julia Kührer's cell phone was last located in the district capital of Horn , 20 kilometers away , where she attended school. The police assume that they lost it there.
The weekend before, Kührer and two friends had attended the Danube Island Festival and on the same evening a motocross event in the nearby town of Schrattenthal . Since, according to statements, she should not have been a motorcycle fan and did not take any friends there, the investigative authorities speculated that Kührer might have met someone at the Danube Island Festival with whom she met at the motocross event.
search
The search for Kührer turned out to be extremely difficult, since the investigators found little evidence. In the hope of a quick clarification, a major media response started, in many places in Lower Austria and in Vienna leaflets were posted. Still, the police were in the dark for years. Only in 2010 did the first clues lead to the drug scene, after the responsible authorities, together with the city of Pulkau, involved the local youth in the investigation in a joint action.
On May 10, 2010, a 27-year-old woman, her 21-year-old brother and her 26-year-old ex-boyfriend were arrested in the Horn district . The prosecution attached central importance to a telephone call that the ex-partner of the 27-year-old had with the 27-year-old on May 1, 2010 and which was listened to on the basis of a court-approved call data monitoring by the special investigative group “targeted search for missing persons”. The investigators interpreted the content of the phone call as an indication that the three arrested persons must have known about Julia's disappearance. During the phone call, the 26-year-old expressed concern that an ex-boyfriend of Kührers who had been interrogated by the investigative authorities had "whistled on everyone". The investigators were also taken aback by the results of a call data collection. According to this, Julia Kührer was logged in with her mobile phone about 45 minutes after she was last seen on the main square in Pulkau in the immediate vicinity of the 26-year-old's grandparents' residence. According to the public prosecutor's office, the three people were probably those with whom Kührer had talked shortly before their disappearance. It was also speculated that Kührer might have been killed by an overdose of drugs they administered and that her body was hidden by the three of them.
The early morning arrest by the Cobra Task Force was later declared unlawful by the Vienna Higher Regional Court. Lawyer Johannes Öhlböck, who represented the 26-year-old, spoke of the inappropriate use of force. The door that the 26-year-old was about to open was broken open and the suspect was kicked down immediately, although he is said to have already been standing there with his hands raised. His mixed sheepdog was killed by the officers with 18 shots from three service weapons. Synthetic drugs, including knockout drops , and a gas pistol were seized from the three arrested persons. However, despite various indications such as testimony that the arrested persons claim to have seen together with Kührer, no direct connection to the case could be established for all three, which is why they were released again. However, the investigations indirectly led to the breaking up of a network that had smuggled drugs from the Czech Republic to Austria.
Find
On the evening of June 30, 2011, two passers-by entered Michael K's property, who stated that they had been looking for a lost ball there. During the ongoing process, however, the passers-by stated that they had deliberately searched the area for Kührer. In earth cellar of the site they found bones, after which they alerted the police. The next day, the bones were identified as the remains of the missing Julia Kührer. On July 2nd, Kührer's entire skeleton was found. In addition, they found pieces of clothing and a partially burned English lexicon as well as, days later, the remains of a partially burnt ceiling. An examination of the remains revealed that Kührer died at the time of her disappearance in 2006. According to the investigation, however, the site was not the scene of the crime. A death by external influence could not be determined unequivocally at the autopsy, but the responsible medical examiner assumed it was almost certain. After more than half a year of forensic investigations, Kührer's remains were buried in February 2012.
After the find, the police took property owner Michael K. into custody. Michael K. moved to Vienna in 2006 immediately after Kührer's disappearance . He had previously operated a video store in Pulkau, which was considered a meeting place for young people and was located near Kührer's parents' apartment. The then 50-year-old was said to be interested in young women. Some evidence, such as ownership of a silver car, seemed to apply to Michael K. He himself denied all allegations and claimed to have nothing to do with the case. He only knew Kührer "by sight". He suspected that one of his enemies might have deposited the body on his property. For lack of solid evidence, he was released a few days later. On July 15, the Korneuburg public prosecutor filed a complaint against Michael K.'s release on the basis of urgent suspicions. However, the Vienna Higher Regional Court rejected the appeal due to a lack of evidence.
The investigation continued, Michael K. remained the main suspect. A check of Michael K's car for traces of the victim's DNA was unsuccessful. In April 2012 it was announced that a detailed analysis of the blanket in which Kührer's body was wrapped had revealed a promising lead. It was therefore a rare product that was sold by a single company. The investigative authorities promised new clues from a review of the buyer. A month later, however, the end of the investigation was announced.
In December 2012 Michael K. was arrested again after his DNA traces were found on the ceiling. The prosecution's subsequent indictment became final and the trial was set to begin in September 2013.
process
In September 2013, a jury at the Korneuburg Regional Court found Michael K. 7: 1 guilty of murdering Julia Kührer and sentenced him to life imprisonment. On March 7, 2014, the Vienna Higher Regional Court decided on the appeal and reduced the sentence to 20 years.
Individual evidence
- ↑ WienerZeitung.at Missing Julia Kührer dead
- ↑ news.at Federal Criminal Police Office hopes for new information
- ↑ DerStandard.at suspect says contradicting statements
- ^ Vienna.at Julia Kührer was at the Danube Island Festival
- ↑ The arrested trio is suspected of murder , Krone.at, May 10, 2012
- ↑ The arrested trio is suspected of murder , Krone.at, May 10, 2012
- ↑ ORF.at The soup was too thin for the judge
- ↑ news.at Arrests in the missing person Kührer
- ↑ 98 reports in the Julia Kührer case ( memento from May 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), heute.at from December 14, 2010
- ↑ a b diepresse.com Skeleton parts identified: Missing Julia Kührer is dead
- ↑ a b oe24.at Julia Kührer discovered dead in the cellar
- ↑ noe.orf.at Kührer case: Witness to skeleton find
- ↑ derstandard.at Suspect denies connection with crime
- ↑ Krone.at Suspect continues to deny any guilt
- ↑ diepresse.com Blue ceiling as a new trace
- ^ Julia Kührer: Probably Mord , oe24.at of February 8, 2012
- ↑ diepresse.com suspect free again
- ^ ORF Kührer case: Complaint against release from liability
- ↑ Setback for the police , news.at of April 11, 2012
- ↑ New trace in investigation , news.at of April 25, 2012
- ^ Kührer investigations will be discontinued in summer , Der Standard of May 9, 2012
- ↑ Suspect arrested again at Krone.at on December 6, 2012
- ↑ Michael Möseneder: Kührer case: Life imprisonment for Michael K. , derstandard.at of September 26, 2013, accessed on April 28, 2014.
- ↑ Prison sentence reduced in the Kührer case , orf.at of March 7, 2014, accessed on April 28, 2014.