Man left his girlfriend to freeze to death

[Trevordidit]

Man left his girlfriend to freeze when she was struggling on a mountain hike.

He's been found guilty of manslaughter.

So many aspects of his account don't make sense - AIBU to wonder if he did it on purpose?

News article

Yep, that's the salient point. As she raises, how many other women don't survive when a momentary confluence of events offers resentful men the chance to leave a female partner to die?

Over the years, I think I've read press coverage of multiple accidental deaths that have left me thinking, "but how hard did her husband actually try to get help for her?" or "So how come it took her partner 4 hours to notice she was dead?"

You raise excellent points, especially:

As she raises, how many other women don't survive when a momentary confluence of events offers resentful men the chance to leave a female partner to die?

Thank you once again for finding the article.

It really all boils down to the question- ‘ ‘when you left her, in the freezing cold, in an exposed spot - to go get help. Why did you not call the emergency services at that point.’

His whole premise was ‘off to get help’ yet at that point help was at the end of the phone.

Inexplicable…

Exactly

I agree @Delatron
I think he didnt really understand how much she was struggling, being that he felt OK to carry on.
I cant understand why they both didnt communicate with the rescue helicopters (though someone posted you have to pay for that service)
However she was obviously not managing very well back then.
I understand they couldnt go back the way they had come, but to then not ring when things really went wrong! Or as he says he did...why not keep checking or ring back?
I still think she was already dead when he left her.

Yep that’s the only theory that really makes sense as to why he didn’t call for help before he left her and waited until 3.30am. What other explanation is there?

Also explains the reason he didn’t wrap her in a blanket or get the bivouac out. It explains the position she was found in. It explains why he can’t answer these questions..

He must have known Kerstin had an emergency blanket and bivvy.

Definitely.
I dont think for one minute it was premeditated.
But I cant understand how she went from being ok to dead in what?six hours?
Not once did he get help, help that at one point had been right there!
He had a phone, he spoke to the rescue services.
At no point did he think to wrap her up.
So yeah, he is guilty.
Also you would think he would have been distraught when the help did come.(reports described him as being calm? I dunno perhaps not true.)

I’m wondering about the viral pneumonia she had and if that meant she went downhill more quickly and meant hyperthermia set it earlier than it should have. But if she was exhausted and freezing they had a blanket and a bivouac.

It probably was a factor in her death. Though her death was because of hypothermia.

Viral pneumonia is a contagious disease and when it strikes is rapid, especially in the young and elderly - they are most at risk of death. Kerstin was not in that demographic.

Any person can die rapidly from hypothermia.

I've mentioned the helicopter rescue a few times on here as people keep bringing up the cost.
Yes, you have to pay for helicopter rescue unless you have insurance which you can get by joining the ÖAV (Austrian Alpine Association) for €70 per year or the Bergrettung (Mountain Rescue) for €35 per year.
There is absolutely no way that they weren't both members of one of those as they were regularly going out in the mountains. It would be extremely foolhardy not to be a member and I think that if they weren't it would have been brought up in the court case and questions asked about whether that was the reason they ignored the helicopter or they didn't phone for help when things got really bad.

I did wonder if he was also mildly hypothermic himself - and that’s why his decision-making was so dreadful, and he can’t answer any questions.

No evidence either way of course, but I’ve read enough first person accounts of Everest/K2/mountaineering mishaps where people made decisions that made no sense, wandered off, refused to descend, left their buddies etc, and it’s always due to hypothermia (and hypoxia but obviously that isn’t a concern in Austria).

That's mild hypothermia on summiting and descending a mountain that is 3,798 metres during a winter tour?

Not a chance.

One of the things that gets me is the lack of food that was taken. Why would you go on such a long trip with so little food, when you would be using up so much energy?

It’s so bizarre- agreed. And for reasonably experienced mountaineers that knew how long this expedition would take and how much energy they would expend. Madness.

Tbh the whole thing was a madness.
Knowing it had taken so long to get to the point of no return, yet carrying on despite seeing other climbers turning back.
He knew he could do it, but didnt give his inexperienced girlfriend a thought.
I can't for the life of me understand wanting to do this in the first place(dark,cold etc) so that clouds my view anyway.

They’d been climbing for almost 24 hours solid by that point, with no food except gummy bears - obviously there’s no risk of altitude sickness, but yes of course they could get hypothermia up a mountain in winter, worsened by lack of sleep and lack of food.

We’re happy to accept Kerstin froze to death, why is him having hypothermia in the same environment so unbelievable to you?

Obviously both of them should have turned back around 6pm, so they were both making very bad decisions by that point.

You must descend and not summit and descend with mild hypothermia. Or stay in a sheltered place with high energy food and drinks.

Keep warm together with a partner and cover.

Mild hypothermia isn't a walk in the park. Especially with a significant wind chill factor.

Most of all call emergency services.

If he had been hypothermic that would have come out in court and would have been used by the defence as a reason to defend his actions. It was never mentioned.

I'm rereading Killing Me Softly off the back of this thread. It is the perfect illustration of the initial red flag behaviour of an abusive man.

It’s a great book! May also reread..

Im actually reading a different nikki French book right now but might get that one to read next.

I've got it on order at the library. I do love some Nicci French.

Obviously both of them should have turned back around 6pm, so they were both making very bad decisions by that point.

She may not have felt confident turning back alone. Sadly it could have saved her life.

A feature on Alpine divorces was published today in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2026/mar/17/alpine-divorce-abandoned-hiking-trail