Hand grenade attack on ex-lover 17.5 years and "minor custody" for attempted murder
A 54-year-old man who detonated a hand grenade under his ex-lover's car has been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for attempted murder. However, the sentence will be suspended in favor of inpatient treatment.
12.12.2025, 20:59
SDA
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- The Federal Criminal Court sentenced a 54-year-old man from the canton of Basel-Landschaft to 17.5 years in prison for attempted murder.
- He had placed a hand grenade under the car of his ex-lover, who survived the explosion.
- The man, who has an unstable, narcissistic personality, said he acted out of revenge after the woman had separated from him.
- The sentence is suspended in favor of an inpatient measure.
The man who detonated a hand grenade under his ex-lover's car in 2024 has been sentenced to 17.5 years' imprisonment. However, the sentence will be postponed in favor of an inpatient measure.
The Federal Criminal Court convicted the 54-year-old from the canton of Basel-Landschaft of attempted murder, as it announced on Friday. The man was also found guilty of other offenses such as endangering others with explosives and toxic gases with criminal intent.
The sentence imposed by the court is slightly higher than that requested by the federal prosecutor's office, which had asked for a 17-year prison sentence and inpatient treatment. The defense wanted a five-year prison sentence. The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed to the court's appeals chamber.
Unstable, narcissistic personality
The convicted man told investigators that he could not bear the fact that his lover had separated from him in March 2023. He had therefore wanted to send her a "sign". On the evening of January 31, 2024, he stuck a fragmentation grenade to her car, which was parked in a residential area in the German town of Lörrach, not far from the city of Basel. When the ex-lover got into the car, the grenade fell to the ground and exploded under the car.
He had previously stalked the woman, informed her husband about the affair by means of various letters and photos and finally attached a wireless tracking device to her car.
The woman was able to leave the car unharmed before it caught fire. However, the flying splinters caused damage amounting to over CHF 50,000 within a radius of 40 meters.
Investigations into the man revealed that he was addicted to alcohol and had been transporting goods for years without a driver's license. According to the psychiatric report read out before the Federal Criminal Court on Thursday, the man had an emotionally unstable personality characterized by narcissistic traits.
Intent to kill or not?
In his plea, the representative of the Office of the Attorney General emphasized that the accused had initially denied the crimes. Only after he could no longer help himself in the face of overwhelming evidence did he gradually confess. The indictment stated that the man had acted with the intention of killing or at least seriously injuring his former lover.
The man's defense lawyer, on the other hand, spoke of a "chaotic preparation of the crime" far removed from a "planned act of murder". His actions were impulsive and distorted by his alcohol addiction. The psychiatric report showed that he had merely wanted to say: "Look what I'm capable of!" In order to achieve this effect on the woman, however, the ex-lover had to survive, the defense lawyer continued.
For the psychiatric expert, the risk of relapse is increased. The man is currently serving an early sentence, has only undergone partial therapy and has an ambivalent attitude.
The postponement of a prison sentence in favor of an inpatient measure is popularly known as "minor custody". This is because the release of the convicted person into freedom has no predetermined date and depends on the success of the treatment.
