Trial Man sentenced to six and a half years in prison for domestic violence

A man accused of abusing two female partners presented himself as reformed and reformed at the Lucerne Criminal Court on Wednesday. His defense lawyer demanded a conditional sentence. However, the public prosecutor wants to send the accused to prison.

According to the indictment, the most serious incident took place in 2018, when the 52-year-old went berserk when his then partner asked him for 100 francs that he owed her. He pulled out her hair, punched her in the eye and choked her five times for up to half a minute. Among other things, he inflicted a hyoid fracture on her. According to the indictment, the accused had also attacked the woman two months earlier, breaking her arm in the process.

The man is also accused of repeatedly abusing a second partner. He allegedly strangled, beat and threatened her on various occasions between 2018 and 2020, and the woman had to see a doctor several times. He is said to have used his threats to make her stay with him.

Nightmares and sleep disorders

As the crimes were committed in private, the criminal court questioned the two women as witnesses. Both stated that they were still suffering from backflashes. One of the women reported nightmares and sleep disorders, the other post-traumatic stress disorder.

He had done "a lot of very bad things", said the defendant. He had been pumped full of steroids and jealousy had also been an issue. He was sorry that he had ruined the lives of two people.

However, the accused did not admit to all the allegations. In one case, he only defended himself, he said. He also said he had reformed and made amends.

Statements are "trivializations"

The public prosecutor described such statements as "trivializations" The statements of the two women were consistent and the big picture showed the pattern of his behaviour, she said.

The lawyer of one of the victims confirmed this. She said that violence was a "common thread" running through the accused's partnerships due to his "short fuse".

The public prosecutor described the defendant's culpability as serious. He had a high propensity for violence, was choleric and had a relevant criminal record. He had also received a poor prognosis from an expert.

The public prosecutor asked the court to convict him of endangering life or attempted intentional homicide as well as assault, deprivation of liberty, sexual assault and threatening behavior. The accused was therefore sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

"Toxic" relationship

In his plea, the defense lawyer explained that his client had not wanted to seriously injure or kill the partners. He described one of the two relationships as "toxic". They argued despite loving each other.

The defense lawyer therefore requested a conviction for negligent bodily harm, assault and threatening behaviour. These offenses should be punished with a conditional prison sentence of two years, he said. An unconditional prison sentence would not have a socializing effect.

The defense lawyer argued that the defendant is a different person today than he was at the beginning of the criminal proceedings. Back then, after a career in drugs and a failed marriage, he had trained excessively in fitness and taken steroids. These muscle-building substances had made him aggressive. He then underwent therapy and no longer consumed steroids.

The public prosecutor said that the defendant's current life should not be judged. The defense lawyer, for his part, said that the court should not take everything that had been heard from the victims at face value.