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The accused mother's lawyer speaks to the media before the trial

Photo: Helmut Fohringer/dpa

The trial of a particularly serious case of alleged child abuse has begun before a court in Austria.

The child's 33-year-old mother and a 40-year-old friend are accused.

They are said to have tortured a boy for months.

The mother is charged with attempted murder, among other things.

At the start in front of the regional court in Krems an der Donau, the public prosecutor said: "I just can't believe it."

The two women “enjoyed” tormenting the boy.

"Two women almost, thank God, tortured a child to death," she said.

She spoke of the boy's "unbelievable martyrdom."

According to the indictment, the mother is said to have abused her then twelve-year-old son from at least September to November 2022.

She tied him up, beat him and gagged him.

She is said to have temporarily locked him in a small dog crate, poured cold water over him and then opened the window for hours.

According to the prosecutor, the extremely emaciated child begged for food, but the mother appeared “completely unmoved.”

According to the prosecution, the child was only saved through the intervention of a social worker.

At that time, in November 2022, his body temperature was just under 27 degrees.

According to the prosecutor, he was in a life-threatening, comatose state.

The defendant wanted to make the child compliant with her actions.

The mother has largely admitted the allegations

As the Austrian news agency APA reported, the mother made a partial confession in court.

She therefore denies the accusation of attempted murder, but has “fundamentally confessed” to the other charges.

The mother said that her relationship with her son had “always been very problematic.”

"I thought he hated me." She spoke of the child's aggressive behavior, which was not normal.

The mother's defense attorney described the defendant as a very simple person intellectually, completely overwhelmed by her upbringing and easily manipulated.

The 40-year-old co-defendant, who helped determine the child's suffering with her sadistic instructions, is largely to blame.

Both women were close friends.

The alleged accomplice is accused of “continued violence.”

She has denied the allegations.

From the perspective of the co-defendant's defense attorney, the 40-year-old made many mistakes but did not know the extent of the abuse.

The trial is scheduled for three days.

jpz/AFP/dpa