Incident:
In January 2025, Thomas Plamberger and his girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner were on an overnight winter ascent of the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain.
Gurtner, who was a novice at high-altitude climbing, became exhausted and hypothermic near the summit. Plamberger reportedly left her to go for help.
Allegations: Prosecutors have charged Plamberger with gross negligent manslaughter, alleging he made several critical errors.
He allegedly failed to make an emergency call for hours, did not signal a passing helicopter, and later put his phone on silent, missing calls from rescue services.
He also allegedly left Gurtner in an exposed spot without using available emergency gear like a bivouac sack or rescue blankets to protect her from the cold.
If those actions are true, he is beyond negligent.
That does sound outright deliberate.