The Dietikon District Court has confirmed the murder qualification in the case of a 40-year-old North Macedonian who stabbed his 34-year-old wife to death in Dietikon in August 2019. However, his criminal responsibility was limited to a moderate degree. The prison sentence is suspended in favor of inpatient therapy.
The case of a North Macedonian was discussed in the Dietikon District Court.
“Is there even a just punishment for such an act?” asks the presiding judge Benedikt Hoffmann at the opening of the verdict in the case of the 40-year-old North Macedonian, who killed his 34-year-old wife, who was separated from him, in Dietikon in August 2019. The victim’s family asked for life imprisonment. Every murder is terrible, says Hoffmann. However, the court must also differentiate between the worst acts. A life sentence is not possible. A moderately restricted culpability must be taken into account.
The accused is sentenced to 15 years and 7 months imprisonment for murder, mismanagement, multiple serious violations of traffic regulations and numerous other offences. It is an addition to an 11-month prison sentence he received from the High Court in March 2020 for domestic violence and threats against his wife. What was special about it was that prior offenses in which the accused announced the killing were judged by the court at a time when the killing had already taken place.
As recommended by the expert, because of the perpetrator’s paranoia, the prison sentence is deferred in favor of an inpatient measure under Article 59 of the Criminal Code for the treatment of mental disorders. The four children of the victim and perpetrator each receive 70,000 francs in satisfaction, the victim’s parents 50,000 francs each and the siblings 8,000 or 10,000 francs.
No affect act
According to Hoffmann, the court had to answer three crucial questions: first, how the accused got into the apartment, second, how he got the knife, and third, when he wanted what. The accused had claimed that he had been attacked by his wife. However, Hoffmann notes that it was not a mutual dynamic event that escalated. According to statements by the five-year-old son, the father pushed open the door and immediately hit the mother in the face with his fist.
Based on further evidence, the woman was unconscious and completely defenseless when the man administered the fatal stab wounds. The court assumes that the suspect did not bring the knife to the crime scene and that it was already in the bathroom. The accused probably did not have a concrete plan to kill his wife. When entering the apartment, however, “a latent desire to kill” was already present. A great, uncontrollable anger and delusional ideas also played a role.
«Russian Roulette» with own children
However, his mental illness was not decisive for the crime, but “a basic conviction that legitimizes violence”. Hoffmann cites the following as a motive: “The loss of possession of his wife”. That was a particularly disgusting motive, murder was a given. The innumerable traffic offenses increased the penalty massively. The fact that the suspect left the steering wheel completely to his five-year-old son on his lap at a speed of 180 on the Autobahn was “a ruthlessness that leaves you speechless”. He also played “Russian Roulette” with the whole family, who were also in the car.
The court denies a case of hardship and pronounces expulsion from the country for a maximum period of 15 years. The defender’s blood revenge argument is not valid. If blood revenge is actually an issue, it cannot be stopped by national borders.
Judgment DG210023 of March 25, 2022, not yet final.