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A tragic case from Linz gives the national debate on euthanasia an additional explosiveness. On Saturday afternoon, a 36-year-old from Linz arrived at the Lenaupark police station and there gave the following recorded “confession”: At his request, he had actively sacrificed his 29-year-old friend a few hours ago and is now here to report it. declared the early retiree. Officials immediately went to the specified apartment of the 36-year-old man on Ing.-Stern-Strasse in Linz’s Franckviertel and found the body of the 29-year-old from Linz, police spokeswoman Barbara Riedl said yesterday.
Was the victim terminally ill?
The deceased, who was unemployed for the last time, had suffered for years from severe pain in the musculoskeletal system that could not be cured, the 36-year-old said. There were also psychological problems and several suicide attempts in the past.
- Video: Euthanasia case in Upper Austria
For this reason, it is said that the seriously ill person urgently asked him to obtain the appropriate tablets, the so-called neuroleptics. The defendant claims to have finally fulfilled this wish, which is why his seriously ill friend took an overdose on Friday night. The 29-year-old later fell into lethargy, but was still showing signs of life at lunchtime Saturday, the Linz native said. To fulfill the promise made to support him in his suicide, the 36-year-old took a blanket and pillow, pressed them to his face and suffocated the 29-year-old from Linz.
The 36-year-old was booked into Linz Prison after his confession to the police.
According to police spokeswoman Riedl, an autopsy was ordered to determine the exact cause of death, chemical tests should also provide information about the tablets, and people around those affected should be interviewed. “Information that the victim suffered prolonged pain is also the subject of investigation,” Riedl said. “It is determined in all directions.”
The result should be available in the next few days. Pretrial detention is also requested. “In the courtroom there is suspicion of murder on demand. The punishment range is from six months to five years in prison,” prosecutor Ulrike Breiteneder told ON.
More about the subject: The Constitutional Court deals with the issue of euthanasia
