Court in Waldshut (D) tries the Jestetten homicide case
Published: Monday, Dec 11th 2023, 04:40
Updated At: Monday, Dec 11th 2023, 04:40
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The trial against a 39-year-old Latvian man begins today, Monday, at the Waldshut-Tiengen Regional Court (Germany). The public prosecutor's office accuses him of killing a wild camper from the canton of St. Gallen on the banks of the Rhine in Jestetten (Germany) in June.
The public prosecutor's office in Waldshut-Tiengen has charged the man with manslaughter. He faces up to 15 years in prison and subsequent preventive detention. The man already has a relevant criminal record: he was convicted of murder in Latvia in 2005. He was released from prison in 2015.
The accused allegedly hit the victim at least eight times on the head and face with a massive log on the evening of June 8. The 31-year-old wild camper from the canton of St. Gallen died of craniocerebral trauma. According to the indictment, the motive is unclear. The man's body was discovered the next day on the banks of the Rhine in Jestetten (Germany).
Crime scene near Rheinau ZH
Around two weeks after the crime, the 39-year-old man from Latvia was arrested as the suspected perpetrator in the neighboring town of Lottstetten (Germany). He had entered the country as a laborer and was working temporarily on a construction site.
The verdict in the trial is not expected until the end of January. The court has scheduled a total of eight trial days until then. Jestetten is located close to the Swiss border with the cantons of Zurich and Schaffhausen. The crime scene on the riverbank is around 400 meters below the customs bridge that connects Rheinau ZH with Jestetten.
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