Austrian authorities investigating a fire at a traditional restaurant in the center of the Tyrolean city of Innsbruck in early June have found a Bulgarian trace in the crime by comparing DNA samples.
A 37-year-old Bulgarian, a tenant of the establishment, paid another man, also Bulgarian, to set it on fire. The tenant “is being accused by the alleged arsonist“, a spokesman for the Austrian prosecutor's office told the online edition of “Tiroler Tageszeitung“ and confirmed this to the APA news agency.
The tenant and the Bulgarian who accused him are in pre-trial detention in Innsbruck, and a third suspected participant is in Bulgaria on another criminal charge. However, according to his lawyer, he feels deceived.
The former restaurateur is also defending himself against the charges. "He is shocked and categorically denies the charges," said his lawyer Markus Abwerzger. According to him, his client "has no explicable motive."
No one was injured in the fire on the night of June 1-2. The fire broke out in the middle of the night, with huge flames engulfing the courtyard garden. Eight residents were evacuated from the apartments above the restaurant. Five of them, including two children, were hospitalized with suspected smoke poisoning.