The fortune-teller Gruber, in Wels, was murdered by the haulage contractor to whom he had prophesied that his wife would die before the year was out. Under the pretext of showing him the house he had built for himself, the haulage contractor had lured Gruber into his future dwelling in Lichtenau, killed him, and walled him up in a so-called blind passage in the cellar. In court, the haulage contractor admitted that as early as March he had decided to murder Gruber, the fortune-teller, if his wife lived past Christmas. Between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve he arranged a time for Gruber to come and visit him to drink to the New Year and to see how he had realized his ideas in his new house. Gruber is described as unsuspecting, the haulage contractor as crafty. The famous Viennese specialist in forensic medicine, Breitenegger, was able to determine the time of Gruber’s death to the minute, even after eight weeks. The haulage contractor had been carrying on an affair with a Leonding needle-woman for years.