Justice Defense attorney sees no murder, prosecutor does
Money and a laptop: a man allegedly killed an acquaintance in Ostermundigen BE in 2021. The Bernese High Court is hearing the case at second instance. It remains to be seen whether the crime qualifies as murder or only as intentional homicide.
22.08.2024, 08:53
22.08.2024, 19:27
SDA
At first instance, the alleged perpetrator was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for murder. The judges considered it proven that the accused hit the woman on the head with a glass bottle during an argument, strangled her and then strangled her in the bathtub with a shower hose.
The defendant, who had always denied the crime, did not accept the verdict and took the case to the High Court. There, on Thursday, he made a U-turn: he had killed the woman, the man in his mid-twenties suddenly confessed. He now wanted to come clean.
The criminal chamber of the high court then grilled him for over four hours. However, it quickly became clear that many contradictions in the man's statements would not be resolved. The presiding judge of the criminal chamber repeatedly admonished the man to tell the truth, as he had announced.
In debt up to his ears
The defendant and the young woman were a couple for several months. In August 2021, the two met again in her apartment and had sex. However, the man did not get involved with his acquaintance again for the sake of love, the public prosecutor emphasized before the High Court on Thursday.
Rather, he had needed a laptop for vocational school, which he could not afford. He was financially up to his neck in debt. He had hoped to get a laptop and money from his acquaintance.
The two got into an argument, which then escalated immediately. The man had a strong intention to kill. Even if the crime had not been planned for a long time, it had to be qualified as murder due to its particular ruthlessness, the public prosecutor demanded confirmation of the first-instance verdict.
The man's behavior after the crime was also blatantly selfish. He had immediately used the victim's cell phone to transfer money to his account using "Twint". The man used the money to cover his debts and then calmly went shopping with another crush in Zurich.
According to the public prosecutor, the defendant had always adapted his statements to the status of the investigation and made protective allegations. The statements were not credible, a single "up and down".
Sentence of five years
The defense attorney, on the other hand, did not see murder in the case. His client had simply "seen red" during the argument, hit and strangled the woman. When she stopped moving, he had mistakenly assumed that she was dead. He then put her in the bathtub. There was no evidence that he drowned her.
Every killing of a human being is a priori terrible and cruel, emphasized the defence lawyer. However, his client could not be said to have been particularly cruel or ruthless, as required to qualify as murder.
The accused had been torn after the crime and had had thoughts of fleeing. He had needed money to escape and repay debts. "Did he behave in such an unusual way?" asked the defense lawyer.
In the end, he demanded that his client be sentenced to five years' imprisonment for intentional homicide.
Tactical confession
Under the coaching of his defense lawyer, the man confessed to killing the woman on Thursday, said the lawyer for the victim's parents. The confession had the sole aim of averting a conviction for murder.
The victim simply had to die for a few hundred francs and a laptop. This was particularly reprehensible and unscrupulous. The crime fulfilled the characteristics of murder. He also called for the first-instance verdict to be confirmed.
The High Court will announce its verdict late on Friday afternoon.
