Climber convicted of manslaughter after leaving girlfriend on Austria's highest peak to get help

"An Austrian court has found a 37-year-old amateur mountaineer guilty of manslaughter over his girlfriend's death near Austria's highest summit, after he left her to fetch help when she could not go on. The court in the western city of Innsbruck handed the Austrian man a five-month suspended prison sentence and a 9,400 ($11,100) fine for causing her death in January 2025 by gross negligence, an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of three years."

"After a day's climbing in which they fell far behind schedule, the 33-year-old woman was exhausted and unable to go on, after they reached about 50 metres below the summit of the Grossglockner mountain on a freezing winter's night, the court heard. The defendant, identified as Thomas P, left his girlfriend Kerstin G exposed to strong winds without wrapping her in her emergency blanket or bivouac bag for reasons he could not fully explain, to fetch help in a shelter on the mountain."

"A short call to the mountain police did not trigger a search since the police said he did not make clear they needed rescuing, and he failed to answer calls back or WhatsApp messages asking if they needed help. The defendant said his phone had been in airplane mode to save battery. Prosecutors called an ex-girlfriend of his as a witness, who testified that they too had climbed the Grossglockner together in 2023"

A 37-year-old amateur mountaineer was convicted of manslaughter for leaving his exhausted 33-year-old girlfriend alone about 50 metres below the summit of Grossglockner on a freezing winter night. He left to fetch shelter help, leaving emergency equipment in her rucksack and not wrapping her in an emergency blanket or bivouac bag. A brief call to mountain police did not trigger a search because rescuers said he did not clearly request help, and he failed to answer follow-up calls and messages, later saying his phone was in airplane mode. The Innsbruck court imposed a five-month suspended sentence and a €9,400 fine for gross negligence.

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