A trans-identified male in Austria is appealing his conviction after stabbing his elderly caregiver with his high heels in retaliation for a perceived insult towards a Barbie doll he considers to be his “girlfriend.” The man, who was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, has a violent criminal record and 12 previous convictions.
Due to the strict privacy laws in Austria, neither the name of the perpetrator nor the victim has been released. For the purposes of this article, the suspect will be referred to as “Franz.”
Franz, 60, appeared before the criminal court in Graz in November on charges of serious bodily harm and sustained assault. The court heard that Franz had been physically abusing his 81-year-old caregiver, who is his adult representative, for years. In Austria, adult representatives are appointed by a court to manage a person’s assets if that person’s ability to make decisions is limited due to age, mental illness or a comparable impairment.
As the Kleine Zeitung reports, Franz had been in custody since July after he attacked his carer, punching him repeatedly and stabbing him in the head, chest, and hands, with his high-heeled shoes. As a result of the horrific assault, the caregiver suffered a severe hematoma.
During his hearings, Franz had been permitted to hold a blonde Barbie doll, which he refers to as “Carina” and considers to be his girlfriend. The doll was at the center of the case, with Franz claiming that his caregiver “provoked” him by mistreating “Carina” due to jealousy over their “relationship.” Franz claimed his caregiver wanted to have sexual relations with him, something the aide denied.
Another factor which is said to have contributed to the July assault is a dispute over finances. Franz’s caregiver had reportedly informed him that he did not have sufficient assets to continue to afford to stay in the hotel he had been living in, sending Franz into a rage.
During the trial, a psychiatric expert diagnosed Franz with an untreated personality disorder, schizoid characteristics, and a tendency to violence. The expert testified that Franz perceived “Carina” to be a “replacement for a girlfriend he never had,” and recommended Franz be admitted to a psychiatric institution for treatment.
Franz was ultimately sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, but has launched an appeal as the verdict has not yet been finalized. Despite being in custody, he has been permitted to keep “Carina,” and has been held in a solitary cell. Franz has over 12 previous convictions, eight of which are for violent crimes.
It is currently unknown if Franz is being held in a prison for male or female inmates. At his most recent court hearing, he was addressed using masculine pronouns, indicating that his legal sex has not yet been changed to “female.”
The Austrian prison system houses transgender inmates on a case-by-case basis. According to Kurier, there were ten transgender people in Austrian prisons as of 2016, and the data is not frequently published. That same year, the Vienna Regional Court ruled that prisoners must be granted the right to a “sex change” on request. Franz can request a transfer to a women’s prison a psychiatrist agrees that he has a “sense of belonging to the opposite sex.”