Insults and secret wiretapping Family dispute in Valais escalates - now mother-in-law has to pay
A long-running dispute over visiting rights for her grandson ended for a 62-year-old German woman with a penalty order. In Valais, she was convicted of verbal abuse and unauthorized eavesdropping, among other things.
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- A 62-year-old woman has been convicted by summary penalty order for insult and defamation, among other things.
- A long-standing family conflict with her daughter-in-law escalated during a visit in 2024, during which the woman secretly recorded conversations.
- She received a conditional fine, a fine and has to pay legal costs.
A bitter family conflict in Zermatt VS has legal consequences for a 62-year-old German woman: The Upper Valais public prosecutor's office convicted her of multiple insults, defamation, unauthorized eavesdropping and repeated violations of official orders, as reported by the "Walliser Bote" newspaper.
According to the penalty order, a dispute between the woman and her daughter-in-law has been simmering for years - with the focus on the daughter-in-law's son and the 62-year-old's grandson, born in 2017.
The situation escalated during a visit in March 2024. The mother-in-law secretly recorded several conversations - including a phone call and private conversations between the mother and child - and forwarded the recordings.
"Pathological fury" and "horny scumbag"
In voice messages, she also insulted her daughter-in-law with offensive terms such as "morbid fury" and "horny scumbag" and then contacted the Visp child protection authority to obtain visiting rights. However, the authority saw no need for action. Nevertheless, according to the "Walliser Bote" report, the woman later visited the KESB again and handed over further private data - even though there was already a ban on contact.
Despite multiple court bans, she continued to try to contact the family via third parties or directly - by message, letter and even birthday greetings via WhatsApp.
The woman has now received a conditional fine of 60 daily rates of CHF 30 each, a fine of CHF 1,000 and procedural costs and compensation of around 1,300 francs. In total, the financial burden amounts to over 3,000 francs.
As she accepted the penalty order, the verdict is legally binding.
