Dad ‘who threw disabled son, 6, in river to drown before pretending to have been mugged’ goes on trial for murder

A DAD accused of drowning his severely disabled six-year-old son and then pretending he had been killed by muggers, has gone on trial.

Prosecutors say cold-blooded Florian Apler, 39, threw helpless Leon into a river in Sankt Johann, Austria, and then called police claiming he had been robbed and that his son was missing.

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Florian Apler posing with baby Leon who suffered from the rare genetic condition SYNGAP1 that causes severe learning disabilities[/caption]

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The two frolicking in the water[/caption]

Police later found Leon’s body in the Kitzbuheler Ache river on August 29 and immediately suspected his father’s story.

Apler denied murdering his son as the trial began on July 17 at the Innsbruck Regional Court, local media reported.

He claims he was knocked unconscious as he walked beside the river with his son in a pram and when he awoke, the boy was gone.

Apler told police his son must have either fallen or been thrown into the water by his attackers.

Florian and his wife even offered a reward of €30,000 (around £25,000) for the capture of the assailant he claimed injured him, according to Austrian newspaper Exxpress.

But prosecutors say as police began to investigate the case they found Apler had earlier searched online for how people behave when they are knocked out.

Six months later than the harrowing incident took place in 2022, police refuted Apler’s claims and had him arrested for allegedly faking his mugging.

Austrian police said in a statement: “According to the findings of the State Criminal Police Office so far, there is a suspicion that the alleged robbery did not take place and that the father himself is responsible for the boy’s death.”

His mugging head injuries, they say, were caused when he hit himself over the head with a bottle and they have detailed a string of holes in his story.

Exxpress also reported that a bottle of Prosecco was the alleged murder weapon.

They said: “It had been found by the river not far from the crime scene.

“Images from a surveillance camera suggested that he himself had carried the bottle in the shopping bag of the stroller.”

They believe Apler killed his son because he could no longer cope with the agony caused by the boy’s rare genetic condition, SYNGAP1 syndrome.

Sufferers have severe learning difficulties, have seizures, extreme emotional outbursts and sleeplessness.

But Apler’s defence attorney, Mathias Kapferer says there is no real evidence against him and says his wife is sticking by him.

He said: “In this case, we are talking about circumstantial evidence and similar things.”

The father has denied all allegations and sticks to his original story – that he was in fact attacked to the point where he was knocked out.

He has been placed as a prime suspect for murder after the fatal event which saw his son drown after falling into a stream of water.

“Based on the results of the investigation so far, the public prosecutor’s office assumes that there is an urgent suspicion of murder and the pretence of a criminal offence, ” the authorities added.

Previously, we reported that the six-year-old was left to wander into the river in St. Johann in Tirol, Austria.

Apler claimed he was pushing Leon in his pram at 4am when an unidentified attacker struck him in the head with a bottle.

He told police he then collapsed to the ground unconscious, and claimed Leon climbed out of the buggy and wandered around, disoriented.

The horrific incident was discovered by a passerby, who found the dad at around 5.20am.

Police were told Leon walked towards the nearby Kitzbueheler Ache river and drowned, and an autopsy confirmed this cause of death.

A verdict is expected on 1st August, local media reports.

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Apler is currently on trial as he is believed to have murdered Leon by drowning[/caption]