The motive for the homicide in Jestetten remains unclear
Published: Monday, Dec 11th 2023, 15:10
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The trial for the homicide in Jestetten (D) began on Monday at the Waldshut-Tiengen (D) district court. The accused has not yet commented on the accusations. His motive is also unclear.
The defendant was questioned at the start of the trial. The 39-year-old is a so-called Latvian non-citizen. Although he has a permanent residence permit in Latvia, he does not have citizenship.
His biography is characterized by fractures - and by prison stays at a young age. In 2005, he was convicted of manslaughter for allegedly killing and robbing an elderly woman with an accomplice. He was released from prison in 2015.
He entered Germany on May 21 of this year. As an employee of a Latvian subcontractor, he was supposed to lay data cables in the German municipality of Klettgau together with other Latvian workers.
The public prosecutor's office charged the 39-year-old Latvian with involuntary manslaughter. They accuse him of killing a 31-year-old Swiss man on the Rhine near Jestetten on the evening of June 8 this year. He allegedly hit him with a log.
DNA traces incriminate the accused
The victim was found the next day lying on his stomach by the Rhine with his pants down. The background to the crime is unknown. According to the public prosecutor, the defendant has not yet provided any details. If he remains silent, the court will have to decide on the basis of the evidence.
It is unclear exactly what happened before the crime. DNA traces of the accused and the victim were found on a joint. There was probably also plenty of alcohol. The victim had around 1.8 per mille. There are videos of the accused buying beer and cigarettes at two petrol stations and in a store on June 8.
"Were you happily smoking a joint and drinking a beer together?" the judge asked. It is also unclear how the two men communicated - the accused speaks Russian, but hardly any German. The victim, on the other hand, did not speak Russian.
The victim wanted to spend the night on the Rhine
The 31-year-old from the canton of St. Gallen had set up his hammock between two trees on the Rhine and wanted to spend the night there. The next day, he wanted to meet his brother at a techno party in nearby Eglisau ZH.
The exact course of events and motive initially remained unclear on the first day of the trial in Waldshut. What is certain is that blows to the head with a one-meter-long log on the evening of 8 June led to the man's death.
"Various traces of DNA were found that make us wonder how they got there," said the judge. Among other things, traces of the accused were found on the victim's penis.
Purse disappeared
The victim's wallet with bank cards and a modest amount of cash had disappeared. His rucksack, which contained his smartphone among other things, was found in the Rhine not far from the crime scene. The accused is said to have been practically broke at the time of the crime. He had not yet received a salary for his work in Germany.
On June 22, the alleged perpetrator was arrested in neighboring Lottstetten (Germany). He has been in custody since then. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison. According to the public prosecutor's office, preventive detention will also have to be considered. This is an indefinite deprivation of liberty, the necessity of which is regularly reviewed.
©Keystone/SDA
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