The main defendant in the case of the brutal killing of a young Austrian schoolgirl Leonie W. has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The court on Friday (December 2) also found two other men, aged 20 and 19, guilty of murder by omission for failing to help the girl after she overdosed on the drug ecstasy.

The younger man was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the older man received a 19-year sentence. All three defendants were convicted of rape.

The court concluded that the men had given the girl drugs with the intention of raping her. An autopsy found she died as a result of the drug overdose and suffocation.

Condemnation of migrant crimes

The killing of Leonie on June 26, 2021 prompted strong condemnation from Austria’s then chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, of migrants who commit crimes. The younger men were asylum seekers at the time of the crime, while the main defendant had had his protected status revoked as a result of three convictions, including one for robbery.

Kurz said at the time that authorities would ensure the perpetrators were "punished with the full force of the law.''

"I find it intolerable for people to come to us, say they are seeking protection and then commit cruel, barbaric crimes in Austria,'' he said.

The crime also focused attention on Afghan migrants in Austria, with Kurz vowing at the time to continue deportations to Afghanistan. An Afghan peace activist in Austria, Hafizullah Khaled, told the newspaper Wiener Zeitung a month after Leonie’s murder, "It is unfortunate that all Austrians now see us as murderers and rapists."

With AP