Man must answer for murder of wife in Lucerne
Published: Tuesday, Feb 6th 2024, 04:50
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A 53-year-old man from Serbia must answer to the Lucerne Criminal Court today (Tuesday) for the alleged murder of his wife. He allegedly stabbed her to death in their shared apartment in June 2020.
The accused stabbed the victim seven times in the neck with a kitchen knife and eight times in the chest, according to the indictment issued by the public prosecutor's office on Tuesday. Before that, he allegedly punched her and strangled her.
The recurring arguments regarding the victim's desire for a divorce and the associated consequences under matrimonial property law are cited as the motive. Both spouses also had affairs, which led to arguments. The situation escalated when the accused discovered a few days before the crime that his wife was about to move out and realized that a divorce was indeed imminent.
The man is also accused of multiple embezzlement. In the run-up to the crime, he is said to have stolen a total of around 60,000 francs from the victim's account. He also withdrew CHF 432,000 from his own accounts and hid the money with the intention of reducing his wife's matrimonial property rights.
When his wife noticed that the defendant had stolen the money acquired during the marriage, she took legal action. As a result, he returned 20,000 francs to her in cash, but the rest of the money remained missing.
According to the indictment, a life sentence and a 15-year ban from the country is demanded. The accused basically admits to killing his wife, but also says that the victim provoked him in order to trigger a physical attack so that she could finally call the police.
©Keystone/SDA
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