Man in Monthey sentenced to 20 years in prison for femicide – longer than prosecution requested
The district court in Monthey sentenced a 45-year-old man to 20 years in prison for the murder of his wife. He had killed her with 34 knife wounds.
20 years in prison for murder in Monthey: court exceeds prosecution's request
The district court in Monthey sentenced a 45-year-old man to 20 years in prison for the murder of his wife on Tuesday. As reported by Google News CH — Crime (de), the defendant killed the woman on 3 August 2023 with 34 knife wounds and also injured his daughter in the process.
The sentence imposed is significantly higher than the prosecution's request. Prosecutor Emmanuelle Raboud had demanded 16 years of imprisonment. The defence, by contrast, pleaded for manslaughter instead of murder and sought a prison sentence of six years.
Course of events: five knives, blades broken four times
The murder was preceded by a dispute over money. The defendant, originally from North Macedonia and a naturalised Swiss citizen, initially attacked his wife physically while under the influence of alcohol. He then stabbed her 34 times, using five kitchen knives in succession. The blade broke four times during this. The victim sustained numerous injuries to the throat, face and upper body.
The couple's daughter attempted to protect her mother during the act and was injured on her hands. She knocked her father to the ground, whereupon he stabbed himself in the chest with a knife. The daughter managed to disarm him. The act only ended with the arrival of police.
Court president: "gave her no chance"
Court president Florent Boissard described the act as particularly brutal at the time of sentencing. The defendant had given his wife no chance. According to Boissard, without the slightly diminished criminal responsibility due to alcohol consumption, a life sentence would have been imposed.
The court was also not convinced of the man's genuine remorse. It deemed the motive for the act particularly reprehensible: according to the judgment, it was triggered by mere suspicions about the use of jointly held money. The prosecution spoke of an extraordinary outburst of violence – the man had repeatedly fetched new knives after the blades of those previously used had broken.
In addition to the murder conviction, the court also sentenced the man for aggravated assault against his daughter.
Compensation for the children, possible appeal
The defendant apologised in court to his children and asked for their forgiveness. The court awarded both children compensation: the son receives approximately 172,000 francs, the daughter 80,000 francs.
Counsel Pauline Elsig described the sentence imposed as "extraordinarily harsh". She and her client now plan to consider whether they will appeal the judgment to the cantonal court.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)