Defense lawyer demands acquittal in Frauenfeld murder trial
Published: Monday, Feb 26th 2024, 17:20
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In his plea in the murder trial before the Frauenfeld District Court on Monday, the defense lawyer for the alleged main perpetrator called for a full acquittal. The defense lawyer of the second accused will have his say on Tuesday.
The defense lawyer made every effort to sow doubts in the court about the culpability of his client, a 63-year-old Swiss national. He picked apart the indictment and criticized contradictions, inconsistencies and even "obvious and shameless untruths".
In addition, the investigation was conducted in a one-sided manner: Only "incriminating elements to the detriment of the accused" were sought. Exculpatory factors were neglected.
"Enormous pressure to succeed"
The defense lawyer repeatedly referred to his own experience as a former long-serving public prosecutor. The investigating authorities are under enormous pressure to succeed in so-called "cold cases", i.e. cases that cannot be solved for years. This applies in particular to a high-profile case involving a corpse weighed down with concrete in a lake.
Clarification was then simply needed. This would create the ideal conditions for a misjudgment. This must be prevented "at all costs".
The defence lawyer criticized the use of undercover investigators as completely inadmissible. The legal requirements for this had not been met. The purpose had been to deceive his client, to "pull the wool over his eyes" and get him to make statements.
"A fraudulent confession"
The "fraudulent" so-called confession was therefore "obviously not usable". Incidentally, the descriptions were also not consistent with the findings of the forensic experts. Of course, it is unsatisfactory if an acquittal has to be made for formal reasons. In the present case, however, there was no other option.
There is no evidence that his client, and therefore the 59-year-old Italian accused as an accomplice, is the perpetrator. The Swiss national, who has been in custody since his arrest in August 2022, should be released immediately. He should be compensated for the damage he has suffered and awarded satisfaction for his unjustified imprisonment.
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