Court in Winterthur convicts 79-year-old man of murder
Published: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 17:40
Updated At: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 17:40
Retour au fil d'actualité
The Winterthur District Court has found a 79-year-old Serbian man guilty of murder. He had killed the 32-year-old wife of his grandson because she wanted a divorce. The court sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a 15-year ban from the country at the sentencing hearing in Winterthur ZH on Thursday. In addition, various relatives of the victim are demanding compensation. In total, over 300,000 francs are at stake.
For the court, the crime, which took place in an apartment in Winterthur in February 2021, was "an actual execution" that clearly qualified as murder. The accused had shown incredible cold-bloodedness and acted as the ruler over life and death.
Defendant claimed self-defense
The court considered the self-defense situation claimed by the 79-year-old grandfather to be refuted. The defendant had claimed that he had shot the woman because she had attacked him with a large knife.
The court considered this to be unrealistic on the basis of the firearms report. The defendant had shot his victim while she was sitting on the sofa.
Although the court did not hand down a life sentence, the convicted man is likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment due to his advanced age. "There is no reason for the court to take your state of health or your age into consideration," said the judge in the reasons for the verdict. The only reason he was not sentenced to life imprisonment was because even worse crimes were conceivable.
Entered Switzerland with a revolver
The pensioner entered Switzerland with a revolver on February 13, 2021. Three days later, he visited the woman unannounced in her apartment in Winterthur. After she had served him a coffee, he locked the door, grabbed the gun and shot her dead with six well-aimed shots. The man's 19-month-old great-granddaughter was present at the time of the crime.
The victim and the defendant's grandson had been married since the end of 2007. In 2020, the woman traveled from Serbia to Switzerland without the consent of her family, settled in Winterthur and filed for divorce.
The public prosecutor demanded a life sentence at the trial. The man had literally wanted to get rid of his grandson's wife because she had not behaved in accordance with his values and had thus tarnished the family's honor in his eyes.
The defense lawyer pleaded for an acquittal. He argued that his client should only be sentenced to a fine for violating the Weapons Act.
The decision of the District Court of Winterthur is not yet legally binding. It can be appealed to the Zurich High Court.
©Keystone/SDA
French 
English 
German 
Spanish 
Arabic