Man who 'left girlfriend to die' on Austria's biggest mountain goes on trial
The 36-year-old in now facing up to three years in prison if charges of manslaughter by gross negligence are proven.
A man who 'left his girlfriend to die' meters from the peak of Austria's highest mountain is set to go on trial this week accused of gross negligent manslaughter.
Listen to this article
Chilling webcam footage emerged in December showing the experienced climber allegedly abandoning his girlfriend at the top of Austria’s biggest mountain.
A year on from the tragic mountaintop incident, Thomas Plamberger, 36, is set to stand trial, with Thursday's court case set to see the climber face gross negligent manslaughter charges.
If found guilty, the climber could face up to three years in prison.
Plamberger and Kerstin Gurtner were just 50m from the summit of the Grossglockner's 12,460ft peak when she began feeling unwell and noticeably disorientated.
The 33-year-old later froze to death meters from the summit, after Mr Plamberger decided to leave her at 2am on Sunday, 19 January 2025.
He returned to the mountain six and a half hours later to find her dead after descending the summit in order to find help, according to the public prosecutor.
Read more: Third Briton dies in French Alps avalanches in one week
Ms Gurtner's death comes after she was left "unprotected, exhausted, and hypothermic" atop the peak.
Webcam images shared by local media outlets have previously revealed the emergency lights of the two mountaineers during their ascent at around 6pm on January 18, 2025.
Prosecutors now argue that the climber made nine key mistakes in the run-up to Ms Gurtner’s death, including a lack of proper planner where the expedition was concerned and failing to properly make contact with search teams and police.
Since the incident took place last January, prosecutors embarked on an 11-month investigation into the tragedy.
Evidence is said to include analysis form the couple’s mobile phones, sports watches, images captured during the ascent and reports conducted by an independent Alpine mountaineering expert.
Investigators said the pair were battered with winds up to 46mph, with the conditions feeling like -20C.
Despite the extreme cold, the woman was allowed to attempt the final stretch up the peak with a splitboard and soft snow boots
Experts have called the kit, "totally unsuitable" for the high-alpine hike.
The man’s lawyer, Kurt Jelinek, said: “My client is very sorry about how things turned out.”
He added that the defence “still assumes it was a tragic, fateful accident .”
The boyfriend has also been accused of failing to make an emergency call in time.
The pair were stranded from around 9pm, but no call went in until 12:35am, prosecutors claim.
He did not call rescuers again after the first phone call.
It comes after a third British man was killed in an avalanche in the French Alps this week, just days after two British men were among three killed in a separate avalanche in the region.