process
Swiss camper killed: 13 years in prison for defendant
The defendant (l) next to his defense attorney in the courtroom. photo
© Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa
The judge calls it a “disturbing act.” A 39-year-old struck several times with a log. Now it has to go to prison for a long time.
A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for killing a Swiss camper with a log on the banks of the Rhine in Jestetten in the far south of Baden-Württemberg. As the Waldshut-Tiengen regional court announced on Thursday, he killed his victim with at least six massive blows to the skull. It was a “disturbing act,” said presiding judge Martin Hauser.
According to the investigation, the 31-year-old Swiss had set up a camp with a hammock on the river bank at the beginning of June. Passers-by discovered the body after the bloody act.
The defendant, who came from Latvia, confessed to having killed the man in a statement read out by his defense attorney during the trial. But the motive was not clear. As the court has now announced, the police investigation has also proven the 39-year-old’s guilt. German and Swiss investigators worked well together in the case.
The court’s verdict fell short of the public prosecutor’s demands, which had called for a prison sentence of 14 years. The man was convicted of manslaughter – the chamber did not find any so-called murder characteristics such as greed or insidiousness. The judgment is not yet final and can be appealed. The competent court of appeal is the Federal Court of Justice, as the court announced.