Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
Shortly before Christmas 2001, a sales representative traveling in his company car on the Brünner Bundesstraße north of Vienna made a gruesome discovery. Needing to use the restroom urgently, he stopped at a parking lot and walked to the edge of the forest. There, lying on a blanket of snow, was a completely charred corpse. Next to it was a tire track. The man immediately alerted the police. The autopsy performed by medical examiner Prof. Daniele Risser revealed that the corpse had a severe injury to the forehead caused by a blunt object. The victim also had four clean cuts on the neck. The dead man had been beaten to death, then slashed and finally burned to conceal his identity. The press reported that the dead man was wearing a distinctive gold triangular earring so that the public could help identify the body. Following the media reports, a man came forward who had filed a missing person report with the Vienna police a few days earlier for his 36-year-old brother, Gerald Wildner. After divorcing his wife, with whom he had a child, he had been living with his brother in his mother’s apartment in Vienna-Donaustadt. When he did not come home on Friday evening, his brother and mother became very worried. In addition, the unemployed youth coach of the U10 team of the soccer club in Vienna Florisdorf had not shown up for the Christmas party, which was unusual for Gerald Wildner, whose life had revolved around soccer since his divorce and unemployment. Furthermore, no one was able to reach Gerald Wildner, who was considered the heart and soul of the club and took on small janitorial tasks there. Interviews with club colleagues revealed that a romantic relationship had developed between Gerald Wildner and Barbara Fuhrmann, who was divorced. She lived with her young son, who also played soccer at the club, in a detached house near the sports field. On the day of his disappearance, Gerald Wildner had eaten with Barbara Fuhrmann in the club canteen, which they left at around 10:30 p.m. Barbara Fuhrmann also confirmed this statement to the police. After leaving the canteen, Gerald Wildner accompanied Barbara Fuhrmann to her house, where they had a drink in the living room. At around 12:30 a.m., Gerald Wildner left the house to take the bus home. Barbara Fuhrmann asked him to give her a quick call when he got home, but he did not do so. In the meantime, a hunter discovered a burn site in an abandoned clay pit in the district of Gänserndorf. Two sets of keys were also found there, which clearly belonged to Gerald Wildner. It was now clear that Gerald Wildner had been brought to the Weinviertel region dead to be burned in the clay pit. During questioning at the clubhouse, another name came up, namely that of Erich Kammerlander, a married father of two children. He played soccer for a rival club and had been having an affair with Barbara Fuhrmann for 10 years. He owned an apartment on Brünner Straße and a house near the abandoned clay pit in the district of Gänserndorf. After initially denying the murder of Gerald Wildner, the respected chauffeur of a ministerial advisor confessed during questioning at the police station. Kammerlander, who was married, had been having an affair with Barbara Fuhrmann since 1991. When his wife found out, he officially separated from his mistress, but continued the liaison in secret. Barbara Fuhrmann then gave Erich Kammerlander the choice between her and his wife. When he couldn’t make up his mind, Barbara Fuhrmann ended the relationship and became close to Gerald Wildner. Kammerlander, who was plagued by jealousy, saw only one way out: Gerald Wildner had to die. On Friday evening, he attended his club’s Christmas party with his family. Afterwards, his wife drove their two children to their apartment in Vienna. Kammerlander drove to his house in the Weinviertel region. From there, he called Barbara Fuhrmann to make sure that Gerald Wildner was with her. Then he took his company car and drove to Vienna-Florisdorf with a locksmith’s hammer, a kitchen knife, a piece of string, and a 5-liter canister of gasoline. He parked the car near the bus stop that Wildner usually used and waited until Wildner left Barbara Fuhrmann’s house at around 12:30 a.m. He then approached Wildner on his way to the bus stop and struck him on the head with the hammer. Gerald Wildner fell to the ground unconscious. Kammerlander then loaded Wildner into the trunk of his car, which he had lined with plastic sheeting, and took Wildner’s cell phone. He then drove to the clay pit, where he put a string around his neck and tightened it. He then cut his neck before burning him. He wanted to make sure that Wildner was dead and that no one could identify the body. He then placed the charred body in the trunk and disposed of it next to the parking lot on Brünner Straße. After the crime, he calmly drove home and went to sleep. Erich Kammerlander was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Gerald Wildner. He appealed, and his sentence was reduced from 22 to 20 years.
