Court sentences serial burglar to seven years, both sides appeal

A regional court has sentenced a 53-year-old Romanian man to seven years in prison for about six burglaries and thefts worth around €4,000, ORF reported. Both the defendant and the prosecution have appealed.

The burglaries included break-ins in Eben and Bischofshofen. It is the second time the man has been sentenced to seven years in prison. His first conviction was in Lower Austria.

The man maintained in court on Monday that he was innocent. His lawyer, Michael Hofer, offered an explanation for DNA traces found at the crime scenes, saying the defendant had been at the locations before and that the evidence was “historical DNA”.

The court rejected that explanation as highly unlikely, saying DNA traces would not literally remain dormant for 10 years. It found the evidence sufficient for a conviction.

The defendant said he still considered himself innocent and appealed. The prosecution also appealed, arguing that seven years in prison was not enough.