“Cold case” before Frauenfeld district court after 16 years
Published: Monday, Feb 26th 2024, 05:50
العودة إلى البث المباشر
More than 16 years after a homicide, the two alleged perpetrators stand before the district court of Frauenfeld TG today, Monday. The two allegedly killed a 27-year-old Egyptian man in December 2007 and dumped him in Lake Barchet in Thurgau.
The body of the man, who lived in the canton of Schaffhausen, was discovered in the small lake on December 13, 2007. It was weighted down with a concrete slab that was tied around the body with ropes. Forensic experts found four gunshot wounds, one of which was to the head.
Despite extensive investigations, the police were unable to track down the perpetrators. The homicide became a so-called "cold case". According to the public prosecutor's office, criminal proceedings against the victim's wife were dropped in 2011 after the woman died.
Years later, the criminal prosecution authorities reopened the case. The focus was on previously unidentified DNA traces. The television program "Aktenzeichen xy ungelöst" was also brought in.
As the public prosecutor explains in the indictment, there was concrete suspicion against one of the two accused today. After he confessed to the crime to an undercover investigator, criminal proceedings were also initiated against the second accused in March 2022. The two men were arrested in August 2022.
Wife is said to have given the order
According to the indictment, the Egyptian was in a restaurant in Schaffhausen on the evening of December 10, 2007, when he received a telephone call. The man then left the restaurant "in a hurry". It has not yet been possible to find out who made the call. Three days later, the body was discovered in the water.
According to the indictment, the accused, a 63-year-old Swiss man and a 59-year-old Italian man, killed their friend on behalf of his wife. The public prosecutor is demanding a conviction for murder. The sentence demanded will not be announced until the main hearing. The law provides for prison sentences of ten years to life imprisonment for murder.
The trial is scheduled to last five days. The undercover investigators were questioned at the start last Friday. However, neither the public nor the media were allowed to attend. The verdict is expected to be opened on March 4, 2024.
©كيستون/إسدا
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