Thurgau public prosecutor demands life imprisonment for murder
Published: Monday, Feb 26th 2024, 14:12
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In the trial for a homicide from 2007, the public prosecutor demanded a life sentence for murder for both defendants at the Frauenfeld District Court on Monday. Both defendants deny the crime.
For years, the case could not be solved despite extensive investigations and was considered a "cold case". The case concerned a homicide in December 2007, when the body of a 27-year-old Egyptian man was discovered in Lake Barchet in Thurgau.
She was weighed down with a concrete slab and her pants had slipped down to her knees. There were a total of four gunshot wounds to the torso, upper arm, thigh and head.
The case was reopened in 2018. Among other things, undercover investigators were assigned to an acquaintance of the victim who appeared to be a suspect but who had not yet been proven guilty. For around two years, they maintained apparently friendly contact with the now 63-year-old Swiss man.
Crime described to undercover investigator
The investigators were questioned at the start of the multi-day trial last week - in strict camera. In a total of 66 reports to the investigating authorities, they described what was discussed during the meetings with the suspect.
Of central importance were his descriptions of the crime, which he gave unsolicited with "classic perpetrator knowledge", according to the public prosecutor. According to this, the wife had commissioned him and a mutual friend to kill her. She had suffered from the violence of her husband, who was also active in the drug trade. She had tried unsuccessfully to obtain his deportation via the authorities.
"Planning is everything"
According to the account, the accused meticulously planned the crime. "Planning is everything" in a homicide, he had told the alleged friend. That evening, the future victim was lured to the edge of a forest near Frauenfeld under the pretext of handing over drugs. There, the 27-year-old turned to a tree and urinated. The accomplice injured him with three shots.
The victim tried to flee but did not get far. When he collapsed, the two alleged perpetrators went to him. The main suspect then picked up the pistol himself and finished the job with a shot to the head. The body was dumped in Lake Barchet, the weapon dismantled and disposed of.
According to the prosecutor, the descriptions were consistent with the situation in which the body was found, the findings of the forensic experts and the other evidence. There is no doubt about the perpetration.
The first defense lawyer will speak on Monday afternoon. The trial continues on Tuesday. The verdict will follow next Monday.
©Keystone/SDA
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