Leaked Court Paper Says ‘Coldblooded’ Dad Faked Mugging To Kill Disabled Son

A “coldblooded” dad accused of letting his severely handicapped son drown before faking a mugging to cover up the evil deed had allegedly planned the crime for months.

In a leaked document, Federal High Court judges in Vienna reportedly determined a “striking level of cold-bloodedness” in the dad’s activities that culminated in the alleged killing.

The German Bild newspaper reports judges estimate that suspect Florian Apler, 38, “meticulously planned the murder”.

And they detect a “high amount of criminal energy” as Apler promised EUR 30,000 (GBP 26,000) for any information leading to the arrest of his son’s killer.

The document says that Apler “deceived the authorities for months”, Bild reports.

Regional High Court judges in Innsbruck, Tyrol Province, Austria, recently dismissed his lawyer’s appeal to free Apler from custody and ruled to keep him in detention at a local jail for two more months.

Apler – from the small Tyrolean town of Waidring, in the VIP skiing Kitzbuehel district – has not been charged yet, as investigations into the incident in August 2022 continue.

The fitness coach was detained last February as the prime suspect after his six-year-old son Leon was found dead.

Prosecutors believe he injured himself with a bottle to fake a mugging and let Leon drown in the Kitzbueheler Ache stream, in Sankt Johann in Tirol, Austria.

Vienna High Court judges reportedly think that the father assiduously planned the deed and the cover-up.

Their report says that, weeks before the incident, Apler did some online research about what it means to fall unconscious.

When questioned, Apler told the police that he was knocked down by a robber while pushing his son Leon in a buggy on the riverbank at around 4am on 28th August 2022.

Apler was discovered by a passerby lying next to the empty trolly at 5.20 am.

The authorities immediately carried out a search for the boy. Leon’s body was discovered on the embankment downstream at around 6.30am.

But now Bild reports that CCTV footage shows there was a champagne bottle in the buggy’s storage before the alleged attack happened.

This evidence is believed to be at the heart of the upcoming charge.

Investigators suspect that Apler staged the whole mugging scenario because the boy reportedly suffered from a rare genetic condition named SYNGAP1, which causes learning disabilities.

The condition reportedly causes seizures and problems with language, emotional behaviour and sleep.

Regarding Apler’s appeal against his custody, the court said in a statement obtained by Newsflash on 27th March: “The Innsbruck High District Court did not uphold the accused’s complaint against the imposition of pre-trial detention.

“The pre-trial detention imposed on Florian [Apler] was continued for a further two months due to the risk of collusion and the risk of committing a crime.

“The Innsbruck High District Court assumes that there is an urgent suspicion of murder under Section 75 of the Criminal Code and of pretending to be a punishable act under Section 298 (1) of the Criminal Code.

“The Innsbruck Higher District Court affirmed that the reasons for detention, the risk of collusion and the risk of committing a crime, continue to exist.”

Apler’s lawyer, Dr Hubert Stanglechner, did not comment on the latest reports. He previously generally dismissed the accusation as “absurd.”

The advocate recently said: “My client continues to reject the accusation made against him vehemently. He didn’t kill his son.

“The family had constantly tried to create an ideal environment for the child. In fact, the boy’s condition improved. They were ready to face all upcoming challenges imposed on them by the boy’s illness.”

Dr Stanglechner underlined: “My client has the full support of his wife and his whole family.”

The investigation continues.