An Austrian man, identified as Thomas Plamberger (37), was convicted of gross negligent manslaughter in February 2026 after leaving his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner (33), to freeze to death near the summit of the Grossglockner mountain in January 2025.
He received a five-month suspended sentence and a €9,600 fine. The case centered on the responsibilities of the experienced climber who left his exhausted partner in extreme conditions, setting a significant legal precedent.
He got off hella easy.
Straddling the line between murder and manslaughter (reckless indifference to human life).
He seems to have had the mental state (guilty mind, or Mens Rea in the Latin) of an individual who deserves a murder charge. Given the sentence, though, he appears to have been convicted of mere manslaughter.