The Murder of Elfriede Hochgatter and the Tibor Foco Case

The killing of Elfriede Hochgatter has remained one of Upper Austria's most prominent unresolved murder cases for four decades. Its legal history is especially important: the man most closely associated with the case was once convicted and sentenced to life, but that judgment was later set aside. Austrian prosecutors subsequently charged him again, and the new case has never reached trial because he remains at large.

The 1986 murder

Elfriede Hochgatter was killed in Linz on March 13, 1986. Austrian public broadcaster ORF has described the prosecution theory that she was first violently assaulted and then taken near railway tracks, where she was shot.

Sources differ on whether Hochgatter was 23 or 24 at the time of her death. Rather than force a single age, this file preserves the underlying fact that the victim was a young woman and notes the discrepancy in the public record.

The first prosecution

Tibor Foco, a former motorcycle racer who had become involved in Linz's red-light milieu, was arrested and tried in 1987. He denied killing Hochgatter. The jury convicted him and he received a life sentence.

The prosecution case relied heavily on witness evidence that later became disputed. A key witness subsequently withdrew her earlier account, and a co-defendant eventually obtained a new trial and was acquitted. Those developments became central to later efforts to reopen Foco's case.

Escape from custody

While imprisoned, Foco studied law. On April 27, 1995, during an escorted university outing to Johannes Kepler University in Linz, he escaped. He has remained at large ever since.

Austria's Criminal Intelligence Service continues to list Tibor Foco among the country's most wanted persons. That continuing official listing confirms his fugitive status, but it does not convert the pending allegation into a conviction.

The original conviction is overturned

On February 28, 1997, the original judgment against Foco was overturned. This procedural fact changes how the case must be described editorially. Although he had once been convicted and sentenced to life, that conviction no longer stands as a final judgment.

In July 2000, prosecutors in Linz filed a new murder indictment. Austrian reporting has repeatedly emphasized that a new jury trial cannot proceed while Foco remains absent. Under the renewed prosecution, the presumption of innocence applies.

Forty years later

In March 2026, ORF marked the 40th anniversary of the murder and reported that Austrian fugitive investigators and international authorities were still searching for Foco. The Austrian Federal Criminal Police also continued to list him on its “Most Wanted” page.

The case therefore remains unresolved in its present legal posture. Hochgatter's murder has not produced a currently valid final conviction against Foco, and the renewed charge has never been tested at trial.

Timeline

1. March 13, 1986
   Elfriede Hochgatter is murdered in Linz

   She is violently assaulted and shot near railway tracks, according to the later prosecution account.

2. 1987
   Tibor Foco is convicted

   A jury finds him guilty of murder and he receives a life sentence. He continues to deny responsibility.

3. April 27, 1995
   Foco escapes

   He flees during an escorted university outing in Linz and disappears.

4. February 28, 1997
   The murder judgment is overturned

   The original conviction is set aside, requiring the case to be tried again.

5. July 2000
   Prosecutors indict Foco again

   A new murder prosecution is filed, but no trial can proceed in his absence.

6. March 2026
   The search remains active

   ORF reports on the 40th anniversary that Austrian and international fugitive units are still seeking him.