Overview
- Innsbruck prosecutors filed manslaughter-by-gross-negligence charges against Thomas Plamberger over the January death of Kerstin Gurtner.
- The indictment says he left Gurtner about 50 metres below the summit around 2 a.m. in severe cold and failed to signal a police helicopter earlier that night.
- Authorities report they reached him by phone at about 12:35 a.m., and he did not alert rescue services until around 3:30 a.m. after leaving her.
- Investigators say the pair started late and were ill-prepared, citing unsuitable footwear and missing emergency gear for conditions with wind-chill near −20°C.
- Officials cite webcam footage and device data to reconstruct the timeline, while Plamberger denies wrongdoing through his lawyer and faces trial in February 2026 with a potential three-year sentence.