Grandfather claims self-defense in Winterthur murder trial
Published: Tuesday, Jan 9th 2024, 11:20
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He shot his grandson's wife in self-defense, the 79-year-old man accused of murder told the Winterthur District Court on Tuesday. In the further questioning of the man, some things remained unanswered, others confused.
He loved his grandson's wife like his own daughter, the 79-year-old said during questioning on Tuesday morning. "We never argued, never had discussions - we always got on well before I shot her."
The Serbian said that the shots were fired in self-defense. The 32-year-old had approached him with a knife 35 or 40 centimetres long. "She would have butchered me." However, no knife was found at the crime scene, the presiding judge noted. Someone had packed it, the accused replied.
Before February 16, 2021, he had never fired, not even into the air, the accused continued. He had simply always wanted to have the weapon with him, which is why he had taken it with him to Switzerland and on an unannounced visit to Winterthur. But why, the judge asked. "Only the good Lord knows."
Wants to have known nothing about divorce
The public prosecutor's office accuses the man of literally executing his grandson's wife with six shots for blatantly selfish motives: The grandfather had seen his values and family honor violated because the woman had traveled to Switzerland against the family's wishes, wanted a divorce and had entered into an extramarital relationship.
He did not know anything about this, the defendant said in court. Why he had traveled from Serbia to Switzerland around a month before the date of the divorce hearing remained unclear in court. He simply wanted to see the family's newborn baby for the first time, he said. When questioned by the judge, he admitted that he had seen the 19-month-old baby in Serbia before. The 79-year-old added that he could not remember everything.
©Keystone/SDA
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