Swiss Court Sentences Man to Life for Wife's Murder

A Swiss court has sentenced Marc Rieben to life imprisonment for the murder and dismemberment of his wife, Kristina Joksimovic, in their home in Binningen near Basel in February 2024.

The Basel-Landschaft Criminal Court in Muttenz delivered the verdict following a trial that detailed the February 13 incident. Prosecutors said Rieben, 42 or 43, killed the 38-year-old mother of their two young daughters during an argument over divorce, custody and financial support. He grabbed her by the throat, slammed her against a wall, punched and kicked her, and strangled her with a ribbon-like object, according to the autopsy report, which noted extensive blunt force trauma, facial cuts, bruising and hair pulled from her scalp.

After her death, Rieben dismembered the body in the basement using a jigsaw, knife and garden shears. He studied an anatomy atlas beforehand and removed her uterus, the only organ missing from the torso. Parts were pureed in an industrial blender, others dissolved in chemicals, and the home cleaned with bleach. While working, he watched videos on his phone. Prosecutors described his actions as systematic, planned and indicative of hatred, rejecting his self-defense...