Carinthian acquitted: no grossly negligent killing in covid infection!

Carinthian acquitted: no grossly negligent killing in covid infection!

St. Veit/Glan, Österreich - The Higher Regional Court of Graz has lifted the guilty verdict due to grossly negligent killing against a Carinthian. The woman had previously been convicted because she is said to have infected her neighbors with Covid-19, which led to his death. This decision was published on May 20, 2025 and is legally binding on how [5min.at] (https://www.52025052013333332/kein-grob-fahrlaessige-toetung-ung- against-kaerntner- Aufloben/)

The woman from Carinthia hit her neighbor twice in December 2021 without wearing an FFP2 mask. At the first encounter, she was not yet aware of her own infection with the virus. At the second encounter, however, the situation was different: it was actually under a separation notice. This background led to clarification of the allegations in the appeal hearing.

appeal procedure and judgment

The Higher Regional Court decided that there was no grossly negligent killing, while a guilty verdict due to the intentional risk to people was already final. The punishment for this allegation is four months imprisonment, which is examined for three years. The woman had appealed against the first instance judgment, which she now led to the lifting of the more serious indictment, as from meindezirk.at.

An expert confirmed in the appeal hearing that it could not be proven with sufficient certainty that the neighbor had been infected at the second meeting. This fact undoubtedly has a decisive influence on the judgment of the Higher Regional Court.

background of the case

The neighbor infection took place in December 2021 in St. Veit/Glan. This later died of the consequences of the Corona infection, which ultimately led to pneumonia. An expert found that the virus of the woman and the deceased's virus were almost identical. Such a high level of coverage is rare for corona viruses because they can change quickly, which made the evidence complicated in this case. In this regard, the judge expressed that there may have been many similar cases, but the evidence for this special case was considered sufficient, as rsw.beck.de emphasized.

In the previous judgment of the Klagenfurt Regional Court, the woman was sentenced to four months for grossly negligent homicide and a fine of 200 daily rates of four euros each. However, this decision has now been revised by the appeal hearing in a decisive way.