Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
Mariahilf is the 6th district of the Austrian capital, Vienna, which is home not only to Austria’s largest shopping street but also to the largest inner-city market, the so-called Naschmarkt. In the 1930s, in this district – the second smallest in Vienna in terms of area – the married couple Alois and Franziska Fürbacher ran the ‘Mariahilf’ café at 61 Stumpergasse. The café enjoyed great popularity and everything seemed perfect, were it not for Alois’s ever-increasing penchant for alcohol and gambling, which led not only to heated arguments following nights of heavy drinking, but also to physical abuse of Franziska. Franziska endured this with stoic calm; her only ray of hope was her son Franz Jagenteufel from her first marriage. On 5 December 1931, Alois had once again had far too much to drink and simply gambled away their hard-earned money. Franziska reproached him harshly, whereupon Alois became violent towards her and severely assaulted her. When Franziska’s son found his mother beaten black and blue the next morning, he rushed to the café to confront Alois. A loud row broke out between the two, which all the guests present heard; they tried in vain to separate the quarrelling pair. Eventually, Alois and Franz continued their row in the kitchen until it suddenly fell deathly silent. When the café guests curiously opened the kitchen door to see what had happened, they were met with a horrific sight. Standing in the middle of the room was a completely motionless Franz, holding a bloodied knife in his hand. Alois lay on the kitchen floor in a large pool of blood. Franz had killed Alois with a stab to the heart. Franz was brought to trial, where the judges and jury showed leniency in view of the tragic circumstances, and so Franz was found not guilty of both manslaughter and exceeding the limits of self-defence. Justice had thus prevailed, and Franz was able to leave the court a free man.
