Supreme Court upholds acquittal of man who shot burglar

A man who shot and killed a fleeing burglar in Salzburg has been definitively acquitted of murder after the Supreme Court rejected the prosecution’s appeal, ORF reported.

The prosecution argued that there had been procedural errors, including incorrect questions put to the jury. The Supreme Court ruled that the proceedings were lawful, closing the case.

The jury acquitted the 66-year-old man at his first trial in May, finding the shooting was justified self-defence even though the burglar was fleeing. Prosecutors had charged him with murder over the shooting of a 32-year-old Hungarian man in the back of the head from several metres away in Salzburg-Gnigl, a district of the city.

The defendant told the court he had believed the burglar was about to attack him with a knife. The jury unanimously rejected the murder charge. It split four to four on a charge of intentionally causing serious bodily injury resulting in death, and the defendant was acquitted of that charge in doubt.

His lawyer, Kurt Jelinek, said his client was relieved. It remains unclear whether the man will be allowed to own guns again. He had been held in pre-trial detention before the first acquittal after asking for the return of the pistol taken from him following the shooting, saying he needed it to protect himself from burglars.