Post date: Nov 19, 2012 1:22:54 PM
A woman of Spanish-Mexican origin goes on trial in Austria, accused of murdering her husband and later her ex-lover, chopping them up and burying them in concrete in the basement of her Vienna ice cream shop.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA (NOVEMBER 19, 2012) (REUTERS) - The trial of Estebaliz C, an ice cream shop owner accused of murdering her husband and ex-lover and burying them in concrete in the cellar of the shop, started inVienna on Monday ( November 19).
The then 32-year old Estebaliz C. allegedly killed her husband in 2008 by shooting him twice in the back of his head when he refused to leave her after she admitted she had a lover. She then cut his body into pieces with a chainsaw and sealed them in concrete in the basement of her shop.Two years later she allegedly killed her lover by shooting him four times in the head after she had discovered he was seeing another woman.
She also cut his body into pieces and buried the parts in concrete next to her husband's remains.
Before committing the second murder she allegedly took shooting lessons and a course in concrete mixing.
Bones and body parts were discovered in 2011 by construction workers who were installing new pipes in the building.
Estebaliz C, who was pregnant at the time, fled to Italy in a taxi and was arrested there and extradited to Austria.
Court psychiatrist Heidi Kastner -- who judged Josef Fritzl sane enough to be tried for incest-- said in her written report that Estebaliz C. suffered from a personality disorder and serious psychological abnormalities.
"The defence will argue for a sentence which corresponds to her crime and we don't want the jurors to base their verdict on the public image of an ice cold, insensitive and cold-blooded woman capable of anything. Rather, they should realise what lies behind this facade and then reach a verdict which takes into consideration the diminished criminal responsibility," defence lawyer Rudolf Mayer told reporters before the start of the trial.