An Austrian climber has been found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter after his girlfriend froze to death on Austria’s highest mountain last year.
The man, named only as Thomas P in line with Austrian privacy laws, has been given a five-month suspended sentence and fined €9,600 (£8,400).
His girlfriend, Kerstin G, died of hypothermia during a climbing trip on the Grossglockner mountain in January 2025.
In a statement sent to the BBC, the court said it considered Thomas P’s previous clean record and the loss of a person close to him “to be mitigating factors”.
It said it also took into account “the public discussion on social media, which was incriminating for the defendant”.
The judge, Norbert Hofer, himself an experienced climber who works with mountain and helicopter rescue teams in Tyrol, said Thomas P was an excellent Alpinist, but that his girlfriend was light-years behind him in terms of her climbing abilities.
He said the couple should have turned back as Kerstin G did not have enough experience in winter conditions.
Although the judge decided Thomas P had misjudged the situation, he said he had not left her behind “wilfully”: “I don’t see you as a murderer, I don’t see you as cold-hearted.”
The court also heard from Andrea B, a former girlfriend of Thomas P, who described how he had left her alone on a previous tour on the Grossglockner in 2023.
She said she had been at the end of her tether, feeling dizzy and her headlight had gone out.
She said she was crying and screaming when he suddenly disappeared, walking ahead and leaving her behind.
By Anthony Solly
