Acquittal in Yverdon-les-Bains VD murder case overturned
Published: Wednesday, Aug 14th 2024, 12:10
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The Federal Supreme Court has overturned the acquittal of a man from the canton of Vaud on the charge of murder. He was accused of strangling his girlfriend in November 2018. In view of two contradictory expert opinions, the Vaud cantonal court followed the one that was more favorable to the accused. The lower court must now confront the experts with the contradictions.
In May 2023, the district court sentenced the man to 14 years' imprisonment for murder. It also ordered outpatient therapy and custody. The judges relied on the second expert report drawn up during the investigation, in which the defendant refused to cooperate.
The specialists diagnosed a psychotic disorder in connection with the use of cannabis and cocaine as well as a dissocial personality. They came to the conclusion that there was a moderate reduction in culpability.
Not culpable
In the appeal proceedings, the cantonal court relied on the first expert opinion, which attested that the accused had a severe chronic mental illness with schizophrenic traits. According to the experts, the perpetrator was suffering from severe decompensation at the time of the crime and was delirious.
The judges therefore assumed that the defendant was not guilty. They acquitted him and ordered inpatient therapeutic measures.
The public prosecutor and the acquitted man contested the verdict. The latter objected to the measure. The Federal Supreme Court upheld both appeals. As the core points of the expert opinions are contradictory, the lower court must question the authors and, if necessary, order a third expert opinion.
The man from Vaud strangled his girlfriend in Yverdon-les-Bains in November 2018 after they had argued with each other. During the investigation, the man gave three different versions of how the crime took place. The court stuck to the version in the indictment that the man had acted out of revenge. (Judgments 6B_162 and 174/2024 of 16.7.2024)
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