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04. 03. 10. - 12:00

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04. 03. 10. - 12:00

Ansfelden mayor commits suicide

Walter Ernhard, the Social Democratic (SPÖ) mayor of Ansfelden, Upper Austria, hanged himself yesterday afternoon, police said.

Ernhard, 56, who left a good bye note, was found in a garden shed behind his house by his wife. She found the body after discovering a farewell note.

Ernhard made headlines on 2 February when he received a box of pralines containing two dead mice and a threatening letter accusing him of responsibility for the town’s alleged financial problems.

He said he was shocked, adding that "the changes in values at this time will not stop for anything."

At the time Ernhard told his secretary he would not eat the pralines since he remembered that People’s Party (ÖVP) Mayor Hannes Hirtzberger of Spitz an der Donau, Lower Austria, had been poisoned by a "mon cheri" praline from a box he had found on the windscreen of his car on 9 February 2008.

Police later arrested Heuriger (wine tavern) owner Helmut Osberger who was given life.

The praline was laced with strychnine, and the poison has caused irreversible damage to Hirtzberger’s brain. He returned home after nine months in intensive care at a local hospital but remains in a vegetative state.

Police said however there was no indication of foul play in the death of Ernhard who leaves behind a son and wife.

Austrian Times

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