Murder conviction against man in Vaud overturned
Published: Tuesday, Dec 19th 2023, 14:31
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The cantonal court of Vaud has overturned a 14-year prison sentence with subsequent minor custody against a 32-year-old man who strangled his girlfriend in Yverdon-les-Bains VD at the end of 2018. It declared him insane and sentenced him to a therapeutic measure in a closed facility.
The criminal court of the Broye and North Vaud district convicted the former drug addict of murder in May. It had come to the conclusion that the accused had clearly intended to kill. The man was found guilty, although according to expert reports he suffers from a severe psychiatric illness and is therefore not criminally responsible.
The Court of Appeal judged the case differently. The cantonal judges followed the conclusions of the expert report and overturned the first-instance verdict. Laurent Seiler, the defendant's lawyer, confirmed a corresponding report in the newspaper "24 Heures" on Tuesday at the request of the news agency Keystone-SDA.
"The verdict gives my client a chance to find a place in society again one day," said Seiler. An appeal by the public prosecutor's office is still possible.
Man remains in custody
The man remains in custody for security reasons. The therapeutic measure ordered obliges him to undergo treatment in a closed facility. It is regularly reassessed.
The man had strangled his partner in November 2028 after repeated arguments. He appeared at the police station the next day and confessed to the crime. The investigation revealed that the police had to intervene several times in the couple's home. Several of the man's former girlfriends had also accused him of being violent towards them. The victim was the mother of three children.
©Keystone/SDA
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