The former boyfriend of Austrian influencer Stefanie Pieper has been formally charged with her murder nearly 10 months after her body was discovered stuffed inside a suitcase and buried in a forest.
Patrick M., a 31-year-old Slovenian man identified under European privacy rules by his first name and last initial, is accused of killing Pieper inside her Graz apartment on Nov. 23, 2025.
According to the Graz Public Prosecutor’s Office, investigators believe Patrick violently strangled his former girlfriend, stabbed and cut her in the neck and then forced her into a travel suitcase.
Prosecutors allege he drove the suitcase containing Pieper from Austria into neighboring Slovenia and buried her in an isolated wooded area. He has also been charged with interference with a corpse.
Pieper, a beauty and lifestyle influencer with tens of thousands of followers, had disappeared after attending a Christmas party.
Shortly after leaving the gathering, she reportedly sent disturbing messages to a friend saying there was a “creep in the stairwell” near her apartment.
Concern grew the following day when she failed to appear for a scheduled photo shoot — something the photographer said was completely out of character for her.
Investigators soon began focusing on her former boyfriend.
Austrian police said at the time that Patrick had traveled repeatedly into Slovenia and could not initially be reached by investigators.
Authorities eventually located him near Šentilj, Slovenia, after his vehicle caught fire in a casino parking lot close to the Austrian border. Slovenian police arrested him before he was extradited back to Austria.
Pieper’s remains were recovered on Nov. 29 after investigators were led to a forest in Slovenia.
Her body was found concealed inside a suitcase and buried underground.
One of the most disturbing questions surrounding the case has been whether Pieper was already dead when she was placed inside it.
An autopsy established strangulation as a cause of death, but investigators said the examination could not determine the exact moment she died.
A spokesperson for the Graz prosecutor’s office said earlier this year that it remained possible Pieper was still alive when she was forced into the suitcase.
Authorities have also examined severe facial injuries found on her body. Investigators have said those injuries could have resulted from violence before she was placed inside the suitcase or potentially from her struggling while trapped inside.
Prosecutors have stressed that they cannot conclusively establish which scenario occurred.
The new indictment also clarifies Patrick’s current position in the case.
Although earlier reports said he initially confessed to killing Pieper, prosecutors now say he is pleading not guilty to the murder allegation.
He does admit transporting Pieper’s body from Austria to Slovenia and burying it in the forest, according to the Graz Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Patrick’s brother and stepfather had also come under investigation over suspicions that they may have helped move or conceal Pieper’s body.
The Austrian investigation against the two men has now been dropped.
Prosecutors said investigators found no evidence that they assisted Patrick while in Austria. Any alleged acts that may have occurred in Slovenia fall outside Austrian jurisdiction, and Slovenian authorities are now considering whether to open their own proceedings.
Pieper was well known online for beauty, fashion and lifestyle content and had built an Instagram following of nearly 50,000 people before her death.
Her disappearance and the gruesome discovery of her body quickly drew widespread attention in Austria and Slovenia.
Patrick remains in pretrial detention as the case moves toward trial.
No trial date has yet been announced.
If convicted of murder under Austrian law, prosecutors say he could face between 10 and 20 years in prison or a life sentence.
The question of whether Pieper was alive when she was placed in the suitcase remains unresolved and could become one of the most closely watched issues when the case reaches court.
