Current Attempted incitement to murder: Zurich prosecutor demands 15 years
The Zurich public prosecutor has demanded an unconditional prison sentence of 15 years for the man who allegedly tried to send a hitman to kill his ex-partner and mother of their children in 2023. The accused acted ruthlessly, she said.
16.01.2025, 10:28
16.01.2025, 15:21
SDA
The investigations had revealed an irrefutable picture, said the public prosecutor in her plea before the District Court of Affoltern ZH on Thursday. This was a classic case of domestic violence. She demanded that the accused be found guilty of attempted incitement to murder and attempted incitement to grievous bodily harm.
According to the public prosecutor, the accused acted in a ruthless and planned manner and possessed "considerable criminal energy". "His primary goal was to kill his ex-partner," she said.
The accused was making up a "contrived story from A to Z", the prosecutor explained. And: "He pulled a story about an unknown person out of his hat."
Accused denied everything
The accused had previously denied all accusations in court. He had not carried out the activities listed in the indictment on the darknet. He could not explain how it all came about. "It can only be that my computer was hacked and misused by a stranger," said the soon-to-be 54-year-old.
He told the story of a certain Tom, which the public prosecutor described as fictitious. He had met him in a bar in Zurich and had been able to share his relationship woes with him in a chat. He also transferred bitcoins to him. He did not know that these were then transferred to the darknet.
According to the accused, the money was intended for a publication he and Tom had planned, in which they wanted to highlight the suffering of fathers who could not see their children.
From the accused's point of view, there was a relationship of trust with this Tom. "But perhaps there were also dark sides to this Tom," said the accused. And perhaps this Tom had also wanted to carry out a kind of test run on the Darknet in his name in order to be able to use this plan for his own relationship history.
Dispute over custody and maintenance payments
After separating from his ex-partner and mother of their children in 2016, disputes arose over custody and maintenance payments. In December 2022, the accused learned that his wife would retain sole custody. He then allegedly decided to have his ex-partner killed. On January 3, 2023, he hired a contract killer on the darknet.
However, he did not strike as agreed and the woman was not killed. The accused was arrested on February 16, 2023. He has been in prison ever since. The verdict will be announced at a later date.
