Man drives his wife in front of oncoming train in apparent murder-suicide minutes after she posts she's leaving him
Law enforcement in Austria are probing a possible murder-suicide after a man drove his wife directly in front of an oncoming train.
The horrifying incident last month took the lives of Markus Leitner, 39 and his wife Nikoleta, 29, after a huge train plowed into the couple's Mazda and dragged it along the railway tracks for over 100 meters before coming to a halt, news.com.au reports.
The tragedy, which orphaned three children, including an infant, befell just over a year after Markus married Nikoleta, his long term girlfriend, in a luxurious ceremony in Austria early in 2018.
However, local reports in Neudorf ob Wildon have claimed Markus deliberately drove onto a level crossing while his wife sat in the passenger seat. Moments later, the vehicle was mowed down by a freight train, killing the couple instantly.
Emergency responders found the couple's car crushed underneath the weight of the fully loaded freight train. Fritz Grundnig, a spokesman for the Austrian Police, told reporters they have not yet ruled out foul play.
“The possibility that the passenger was murdered while the driver committed suicide cannot be ruled out at this point,” Grundnig said.
The crossing reportedly did not have a barrier, but the warning lights were completely operational and would have definitely warned the couple about the oncoming train. According to police, these warning lights may have been deliberately ignored.
The freight train driver, according to Observator TV, suggested Markus had intended to collide with the train. The driver of the Mazda, he said, had stopped his car before the tracks. But as the train approached, he suddenly “accelerated and came directly to the train”
While the driver attempted to make an emergency stop, the train's momentum was too high for it to stop before colliding with the car. Now, police are investigating claims of a potential murder-suicide, after Nikoleta allegedly said she was leaving him and moving to Monaco.
The hairstylist posted a rather unusual message on her Facebook just half an hour before her death, raising concerns among her well-wishers.
“My darlings. I have some good news and some bad news for you,” she wrote. “The good news is, I am offering hair extensions for 150 EUR. The bad news is, the location of ‘Niko and Beauty’ is moving to Monaco.”
According to news.com.au, a translation of the post suggested she was moving due to "personal problems." Nikoleta was found dead beside her husband just an hour later.
The investigation continues.