Woman stands trial over alleged attempted murder of husband

A woman went on trial at a regional court in Carinthia on Tuesday over allegations that she nearly killed her husband with a knife in December 2025, ORF reported. She admitted to intentionally causing serious bodily harm but denied initially that she had stabbed him.

The man survived after the couple’s two children, who partly witnessed the incident, called emergency services. At the time, the son was 13 and the daughter was 11. Both children were later placed in out-of-home care.

In her opening statement, the prosecutor described a long-running toxic relationship marked by heavy alcohol abuse by both spouses. The couple repeatedly argued, and the 50-year-old defendant was allegedly regularly aggressive when drunk while her husband withdrew to a separate room. Police had been called to the home several times.

According to the prosecution, an argument on December 5, 2025, escalated over a minor issue. The woman repeatedly entered the room where her husband had retreated. After he pushed her out, she allegedly became more aggressive, grabbed a table knife and stabbed him twice.

Their son then ran to his sister, saying, “Mum stabbed Dad, call 144.” The defendant allegedly followed him and tried to stop the emergency call. She only stopped when the children barricaded themselves in the boy’s room. When paramedics arrived, she allegedly attempted to draw attention to injuries she had suffered herself. Her husband was flown to hospital and survived after emergency surgery.

The defence also described the relationship as toxic, saying the woman had been pushed repeatedly during the argument. The man had a blood alcohol level of 3.1 parts per thousand and the woman 3.4, according to the defence. Her lawyer said the stabbing had occurred in the heat of the moment and that she had not realised the injuries were so serious. He said her attempt to take the children’s phone was intended to prevent them from being placed in out-of-home care again.

At first, however, the woman distanced herself from an announced confession. “I was not aware that he was injured. I did not even see any blood,” she told the jury presided over by Judge Claudia Bandion-Ortner. She repeatedly said she had not stabbed her husband, claiming that he had run into the knife. The defence then requested a short break to speak with her.

After the break, she admitted stabbing him but said she had not known he was in acute danger. She said her husband had initially been holding the knife and that she had taken it from him. Immediately before the stabbing, she said, she had felt threatened “just by his look.”

The defendant’s questioning was still under way on Tuesday morning. Witness testimony, videos of the questioning of both children and explanations of several expert reports were scheduled to follow.