Editing Empress Elisabeth of Austria (section)

===Aftermath===

[[File:Sarcophagus Elisabeth Sisi Kapuzinergruft Vienna.jpg|thumb|Empress Elisabeth's tomb next to that of her husband Franz Joseph in Vienna's [[Imperial Crypt]]. On the other side of Franz Josef's tomb is that of their son, Crown Prince Rudolf]]

After the attack, Lucheni fled down the Rue des Alpes, where he threw the file into the entrance to No. 3. He was caught by two cabdrivers and a sailor, then secured by a [[Gendarmerie|gendarme]]. The weapon was found the next day by the concierge during his morning cleaning; he thought it belonged to a laborer who had moved the day before and did not notify the police of his discovery until the following day. There was no blood on the file and the tip was broken off, which occurred when Lucheni threw it away. The file was so dull in appearance it was speculated that it had been deliberately selected because it would be less noticeable than a shiny knife, which would have given Lucheni away as he approached.<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|313}} Lucheni had planned to purchase a [[stiletto]], but lacking the price of 12 francs he had simply sharpened an old file into a homemade dagger and cut down a piece of firewood into a handle.<ref>Tuchman, Barbara, ''Proud Tower'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011</ref>

Although Lucheni boasted that he acted alone, because many political refugees found a haven in Switzerland, the possibility that he was part of a plot and that the life of the Emperor was also in danger was considered. Once it was discovered that an Italian was responsible for Elisabeth's murder, unrest swept Vienna and reprisals were threatened against Italians. The intensity of shock, mourning, and outrage far exceeded that which occurred at the news of Rudolf's death.

An outcry also immediately erupted over the lack of protection for the Empress. The Swiss police had been well aware of her presence, and telegrams to the appropriate authorities advising them to take all precautions had been dispatched. Police Chief Virieux of the Canton of [[Vaud]] had organized Elisabeth's protection, but she had detected his officers outside the hotel the day before the assassination and protested that the surveillance was disagreeable, so Virieux had no choice but to withdraw them. It is also possible that if Elisabeth had not dismissed her other attendants that day, an entourage larger than one lady-in-waiting could have discouraged Lucheni, who had been following the Empress for several days, awaiting an opportunity.<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|321}}

Lucheni was brought before the Geneva Court in October. Furious that the death sentence had been abolished there, he demanded that he be tried according to the laws of the Canton of [[Lucerne]], which still had the death penalty, signing the letter: "Luigi Lucheni, anarchist, and one of the most dangerous".<ref name="famous assassinations 134" /> Since Elisabeth was famous for preferring the common man to courtiers, known for her charitable works, and considered such a blameless target, Lucheni's sanity was questioned initially.<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|322}} He was declared to be sane, but was tried as a common murderer, not a political criminal. Incarcerated for life, and denied the opportunity to make a political statement by his action, he attempted to kill himself with the sharpened key from a tin of sardines on 20 February 1900. Ten years later, he hanged himself with his belt in his cell on the evening of 16 October 1910, after a guard confiscated his uncompleted memoirs.<ref name="famous assassinations 1342">{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2014 |isbn=978-1610692854 |page=134 |chapter=Elisabeth of Austria (1837–1898)}}</ref>

Franz Joseph remarked to Prince Liechtenstein, who was the couple's devoted [[equerry]], "That a man could be found to attack such a woman, whose whole life was spent in doing good and who never injured any person, is to me {{Soft hyphen|incom|pre|hen|sible}}".<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|323}}

Elisabeth's will stipulated that a large part of her jewel collection should be sold and the proceeds (then estimated at over £600,000), were to be applied to various religious and charitable organizations. Everything else that the Empress had the power to bequeath, outside of the crown jewels and state property, was left to her granddaughter, [[Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria|Archduchess Elisabeth]], Rudolf's only child.<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|367}}

Internationally the assassination resulted in the [[International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists]], the first international conference [[Counterterrorism|against terrorism]].<ref name="t136">{{cite book | title=The Battle against Anarchist Terrorism | chapter=The first international conference on terrorism: Rome 1898 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2013-12-05 | isbn=978-1-139-52412-4 | doi=10.1017/cbo9781139524124.008 | pages=131–184}}</ref>