Tests find MDMA in suspect in Langenzersdorf killing

An 18-year-old suspected of killing a 29-year-old man in Langenzersdorf, Lower Austria, was under the influence of MDMA at the time, ORF reported Tuesday. Alcohol was also detected, although investigators are still determining when it was consumed.

According to Josef Mechtler, a spokesman for the Korneuburg public prosecutor’s office, the chemical analysis found MDMA intoxication in the suspect. A psychiatric assessment of his criminal responsibility has not yet been completed.

An autopsy found that the 29-year-old died from compressive force to the neck, consistent with strangulation, Mechtler said.

Prosecutors are continuing to examine the motive. It may have been a hate crime based on the suspect’s belief that the victim was homosexual. The 18-year-old is believed to have belonged to the so-called “pedo-hunter” scene, which predominantly falsely accuses homosexual people of paedophilia and carries out violence against them.

The suspect contacted the man from Vienna via Snapchat and arranged to meet him during the night of August 6 at a single-family house. The owner was on holiday and had asked the young man’s family to look after the building while he was away.

The 29-year-old’s body was discovered on the morning of August 6. Police arrested the 18-year-old, who reportedly admitted during his initial questioning that he had killed the man. He remains in pre-trial detention at Korneuburg prison.