Thun court sentences man to over 17 years for murder
Published: Friday, Dec 22nd 2023, 16:50
Updated At: Friday, Dec 22nd 2023, 16:51
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The regional court of first instance in Thun has sentenced a 39-year-old man from Basel for the murder of a former sexual partner. The man has been sentenced to 17 years and 8 months behind bars.
The accused wanted to meet his former sexual partner again and drove with her to a remote location in the Basel region. There they had an argument about sex practices. The man probably hit his victim on the head with a hammer and injured her, the court concluded.
He tied up the injured woman and drove her to his home. There, the unconscious woman probably came to. The regional court came to the conclusion that the accused had strangled her so that she could not make herself noticed.
The court saw no evidence that the man who consumed violent pornography wanted to live out his sadistic-masochistic streak on the victim. In particular, no traces such as semen were found that would suggest sexual acts.
Tied up and tortured
The public prosecutor's office was different. They accused the defendant of tying up and torturing his victim. Finally, he placed a cable tie around the woman's neck and pulled it tight so that he could look into her face as she died. This probably aroused him.
According to the public prosecutor, similar violent pornographic material was found on the man's computer. They had demanded a life sentence. The defense lawyer, on the other hand, did not rule out the possibility of an accident and demanded an acquittal.
The defendant had emphasized in court that the woman had had an unfortunate fall during the meeting and had injured her head. He had no longer noticed any signs of life in her and had panicked.
Instead of calling for help, he decided to dump the body in a body of water. So he drove towards the Bern region with the body on board, picking up a building site plinth on the way and tying the body to it. He threw the body into Lake Thun near Gunten.
Protective claim
The court of first instance did not believe the accident version on Friday. Whether panic or not, any rational person would have sought help for the victim after a fall and not simply dumped him in a lake, assuming he was dead.
In addition, the court referred to forensic medical findings, stating that the victim's head injuries were not consistent with a fall. Rather, the man had struck the victim with a blunt object.
He then loaded the injured and probably unconscious woman into his car and tied her up so that she could not defend herself. He then drove her home. There, the woman had regained consciousness at best. So that she could not make herself heard, he quickly strangled her with a cable tie.
The perpetrator had planned to meet up with his former sexual partner again some time later. He had also researched the location of the meeting. However, the court came to the conclusion that nothing else had been planned in advance. For example, it was only after the woman had been strangled that the man had searched the internet for places where a body could be disposed of in a body of water.
The court did not see a sexual motive for the strangulation. Nevertheless, it judged the crime to be extremely cruel, unscrupulous and callous. The man should therefore be found guilty of murder.
The court also found him guilty of disturbing the peace of the dead, pornography and depicting violence. Overall, the court considered a sentence of 17 years and 8 months to be appropriate. It also ordered outpatient therapy for the offender.
The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed to the High Court. The man will remain in preventive detention until a legally valid verdict has been reached.
©Keystone/SDA
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