Witnesses in the Jestetten homicide want to recognize the accused
Published: Wednesday, Dec 13th 2023, 16:10
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On the second day of the trial in Waldshut, where the Jestetten (D) homicide is being heard, two witnesses may have recognized the accused. They claim to have seen him near the scene of the crime.
Two young people were barbecuing near the scene of the crime after 10 pm. Both said on Wednesday that shortly after the time of the crime, a man with a naked upper body came out of the darkness towards them. He had said a few words that one of them recognized as Russian insults.
One of the young people said that the accused could have been this man. The other, however, could not say. They also had different memories of his tattoos and whether he was on the road with or without a bike.
"A bit of an aha moment"
Earlier, another witness had said that he recognized the 39-year-old defendant in the courtroom, at least 50 percent of the time. He had "a bit of an aha experience", the young man said in response to the judge's question.
On the day of the crime, a few hours before it happened, the witness was with his grandparents on their property on the banks of the Rhine. There, the accused had addressed the grandmother with the words "Latvia, petrol", as she said.
Her husband and grandson had been down by the Rhine earlier and on the way they saw a man on a bicycle. It remained unclear whether this was the person who had previously approached the grandmother.
Tattooed arm not seen
The grandparents did not recognize the accused. However, the grandson had not seen the most conspicuous feature, a fully tattooed arm, on the day of the crime either. He had learned about the tattooed arm from his grandparents, he said. They in turn said they had heard it from their grandson.
The grandmother testified that she only saw the head and part of the upper body of the questioner. The grandfather noticed the bicycle, he said he had no memory of the man.
As the witnesses testified, there had been thefts from the properties near the Rhine on the day of the crime, and someone had also been looking for valuables there. Who was behind it, however, remained unclear.
15 years in prison demanded
The public prosecutor's office accuses the 39-year-old Latvian of beating a 31-year-old Swiss man to death with a log on the banks of the Rhine on the evening of June 8 this year. They are demanding a prison sentence of 15 years. Subsequent indefinite preventive detention is also to be considered.
The indictment is based, among other things, on DNA traces of the accused that were found at the crime scene and on the victim. The accused remained silent about the allegations on Monday.
The trial will continue on December 21 with further questioning. Several trial days are scheduled for January.
©Keystone/SDA
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