News Swiss man rejects murder instigation accusation in Zurich court
The man who allegedly tried to send a hitman on the darknet to kill his ex-partner and mother of their children denied the accusations in the district court of Affoltern ZH on Thursday. Someone must have hacked his computer, he said.
16.01.2025, 10:28
16.01.2025, 13:08
SDA
The defendant said in court that he had not carried out the activities on the darknet listed in the indictment. He repeatedly emphasized that 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.
The defendant went on to say that he had never made any Bitcoin payments to a darknet site for a hitman. However, he had transferred bitcoins to a man he met in a bar in Zurich, who was in a similar situation and with whom he was able to share his relationship frustrations in a chat.
According to the accused, the money transferred to the man was intended for a publication they were planning, in which the suffering of fathers who could not see their children would be highlighted.
From the accused's point of view, there was a relationship of trust with this man - who allegedly posed as Tom. "But perhaps there were also dark sides to this Tom," said the accused. And perhaps this Tom simply wanted to lure him with the planned publication so that he would provide him with the money.
In prison, the accused speculated that he had thought that this Tom had wanted to carry out a kind of test run on the Darknet so that he could then use it himself for his ex-partner.
Life partner questioned the timing
Beforehand, the judge questioned the accused's current partner. She has been in a relationship with the accused since 2019.
The woman presented a detailed analysis of data from her smartwatch and that of the accused. In her opinion, many things could not have happened as described in the indictment, she explained. She was convinced that her partner was innocent.
The prosecutor's plea will continue in the afternoon. According to the presiding district judge, the verdict will not be delivered today.
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. According to the indictment, he then allegedly decided to have his ex-partner killed. On January 3, 2023, he also allegedly 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.
