Solothurn arsonist sentenced Ex-firefighter must serve 11 years behind bars
A former fireman has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. He is alleged to have set fire to various warehouses, stables and businesses in Solothurn Wasseramt in spring 2022.
20.09.2024, 08:22
20.09.2024, 08:59
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- A 35-year-old ex-firefighter has been sentenced to 11 years and 5 months in prison for twelve counts of arson in 2022.
- The public prosecutor called for a harsher sentence of 15 years, while the defense demanded an acquittal due to the alleged lack of a single perpetrator.
- Lovesickness is suspected as a possible motive.
On Friday, the Bucheggberg-Wasseramt district court in Solothurn sentenced a 35-year-old ex-firefighter to 11 years and 5 months in prison for multiple arson. According to the verdict, the Swiss man set twelve fires in Wasseramt in 2022.
The court based its verdict on five pieces of objective evidence, said the court president in the oral statement of reasons for the verdict. This included the man's cell phone data at the sites of the fires and DNA traces. There was also evidence of searches for fire objects on Google Maps on the internet.
The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of 15 years for the man, who denied the allegations. There was "overwhelming, crystal-clear evidence" that the man from the region had committed the twelve arsons.
The defense wanted an acquittal. There was no single signature of the perpetrator because there was no single perpetrator. The verdict of the Bucheggberg-Wasseramt district court is not yet legally binding.
Lovesickness as a possible motive
The series of twelve fires in spring 2022 caused a great deal of uncertainty, fear and mutual mistrust in Wasseramt, a rural region south of Solothurn.
Forest houses, clubhouses and warehouses burned from Saturday to Sunday in the period from April 3 to May 21, 2022. There were also arsons at a detached house and carpentry workshops. No people were injured; ten sheep were killed.
The Swiss national did not provide any information about the motive for the crime at the trial at the beginning of the week. However, the public prosecutor spoke of an emotional crisis of the 35-year-old.
He is said to have fallen in love with a colleague from his fire department and harassed him. However, this "Mister X" rejected the crush unequivocally.
