Overview
- The district court in Graz found insufficient evidence that the 12-year-old actively drilled the patient's skull and cleared both defendants.
- The ruling is not yet legally final, leaving room for possible appeal or further proceedings outside criminal court.
- Prosecutors had charged the doctors with involvement in bodily harm for allegedly allowing an untrained minor to take part in treatment.
- One defendant testified he let the child place a hand or hands on the drill but maintained he kept full control of the device.
- A nurse recalled the mother saying after the operation that her daughter had drilled her first hole, while operating-room colleagues gave imprecise accounts, and the patient later reported severe psychological distress and lack of consent.