- Thomas Plamberger was found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter for leaving his girlfriend to die.
- He received a five-month suspended sentence and a fine of Rs 10.26 lakh (9,600 euros).
- Plamberger's clean record and personal loss were mitigating factors in sentencing.
Thomas Plamberger, 39, the man who left his 33-year-old girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, to "die" on Austria's Grossglockner mountain last year, has been found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter. The court handed Plamberger a five-month suspended sentence and a fine of Rs 10.26 lakh (9,600 euros) after he left Gutner to die of hypothermia just 150 feet below the 12,500-foot summit.
Plamberger's previous clean record and the loss of a person close to him were regarded as "mitigating factors" as the Innsbruck court handed out the sentence, according to a report in the BBC.
Judge Norbert Hofer, who himself is an experienced climber, remarked that Plamberger was an excellent Alpinist, but his girlfriend was "light-years behind him in terms of climbing abilities". He said the couple should have returned as Gurtner did not have enough experience to endure the hard, wintry conditions.
“She placed herself in your care and trusted that her partner would bring her up safely. If you had acted differently, I strongly assume that your partner would have survived," the judge said.
The court also heard from Plamberger's ex-girlfriend, who described that he left her alone on a previous tour on the Grossglockner in 2023. The woman said she was crying and screaming when Plamberger suddenly disappeared and left her behind.
The Trial
Plamberger and Gurtner began their climb of Austria's highest peak on January 18 last year. During the trial, prosecutors claimed that the couple became stranded just before 9 pm, but he did not call the police until 1:35 am. Rescue crews didn't find Gurtner's frozen body until 10 am the following day.
"Since the defendant, unlike his girlfriend, was already very experienced with alpine high-altitude tours and had planned the tour, he was to be considered the responsible guide of the tour," the prosecutors argued, adding that there were strong winds of up to 74 km/h, with a windchill temperature of -20C.
"Despite the woman's inexperience, as she had never undertaken an alpine high-altitude tour of this length, difficulty, and altitude, and despite the challenging winter conditions, the defendant undertook the alpine high-altitude tour to the Grossglockner via the Studlgrat with her in winter."
The trial, which drew international attention, could have ramifications for Austria's alpine tourism industry, adding more legal responsibility for individuals engaging in potentially dangerous excursions.
