Swiss wild camper killed: court in Waldshut (DE) hears murder on the island of Geneva in Lake Constance

The trial against a 39-year-old Latvian starts today, Monday, at the Waldshut-Tiengen (D) regional court. The Public Prosecution Service accuses him of killing a wild camper from the canton of St. Gallen in Jestetten (D) on the banks of the Rhine in June.

The Waldshut-Tiengen public prosecutor’s office accuses the man of manslaughter. He faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years and subsequent preventive detention. The man already has a criminal record: he was convicted of murder in Latvia in 2005. He was released from prison in 2015.

The suspect allegedly struck the victim at least eight times on the head and face with a sturdy tree trunk on the evening of June 8. The 31-year-old wild camper from the canton of St.Gallen died of traumatic brain injury. According to the complaint, the motive is unclear. The man’s body was discovered the next day on the banks of the Rhine in Jestetten (D).

Crime scene near Rheinau ZH

About two weeks after the crime, the 39-year-old man from Latvia was arrested as a suspected perpetrator in the neighboring town of Lottstetten (D). He had arrived as a laborer and was temporarily working on a construction site.

The verdict in the trial is not expected until the end of January. The court has scheduled a total of eight days of hearing by then. Jestetten is located near the Swiss border with the cantons of Zurich and Schaffhausen. The crime scene on the river bank is located approximately 400 meters below the customs bridge that connects Rheinau ZH with Jestetten. (sda)