An Austrian woman has died after allegedly being repeatedly drugged by her husband and handed over to other men for rape, in a case that has drawn comparisons to that of Gisèle Pelicot in France. The 39-year-old, from Marchtrenk in Austria, was found unresponsive and covered in blood by her daughter on 25 June, after which her husband initially claimed she had been injured during "rough sex". An autopsy and examination of his phone later revealed a more disturbing account, prompting his arrest along with a neighbour.

Investigators found the 51-year-old husband had searched online for how to drug someone days before his wife's death, and had allegedly been paid up to 500 euros per session to hand her over, unconscious, to men, referring to her as "dead meat" in text messages. His neighbour has been accused of sexually assaulting her twice, including on the night she died, and further suspects remain under investigation. The case echoes that of Dominique Pelicot, who was jailed for 20 years in France last year for drugging and abusing his wife Gisèle over almost a decade while inviting dozens of men to rape her, a trial that prompted a national reckoning over rape culture after Gisèle waived her right to anonymity.