A father of two has gone on trial in Switzerland, accused of murdering his former beauty queen wife and disposing of her body using a blender. Marc Rieben, 43, is alleged to have used a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears on Kristina Joksimovic's body before 'pureeing' the remains in the blender.
The case has made headlines worldwide and is so graphic that the public has been excluded from the courthouse in Muttenz, which has been ringed by police and security. Rieben is charged with murdering his then 38-year-old wife, as well as desecration of the dead, and faces life in prison if found guilty.
The trial was expected to last all week, and a verdict was announced on May 13. The defendant was led into court wearing handcuffs. Rieben, dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, was followed into the courtroom by two of his three-person legal team, Christina Von Wartburg and Sina Selman. Appearing confident and self-assured, he placed a yellow pencil case in front of him and then pulled out a blue one from inside.
The grim crime is said to have occurred in February 2024 in Binnigen, a well-to-do village close to Basel. Kristina's parents, the couple's two children, and a women's rights group have been named as civil plaintiffs in the case. It was Kristina's father who made the horrific discovery after he became concerned when his daughter failed to collect the children, and he found parts of her body while searching her home.
Due to strict Swiss privacy laws, Rieben is being referred to in local media coverage as Thomas L, while Kristina, a former Miss Switzerland finalist, is called Ivana L. Because of the gruesome details, the indictment was not made available to the general public as usual, and only accredited media have been allowed to consult it, with no copies allowed to be photographed.
The Daily Mail has seen a copy, which claims that the motive for the twisted killing was Rieben's refusal to divorce Kristina. It details his 'blatant, cold-hearted and ruthless contempt for life'. The indictment alleges that successful businessman Rieben grabbed his wife by the neck, pushed her against a wall, and choked her using a 'ribbonlike' device around her neck. Prosecutors say he also punched and kicked Kristina as he strangled her 'perfidiously, cruelly and in cold blood', with his victim suffering an 'agonising' death.
He is then said to have set about disposing of her body in the underground laundry room of the couple's home using the jigsaw, garden shears, knife, and ultimately the blender. According to the indictment, while disposing of her body, he also removed her uterus, and because of the chilling method of disposal, the unusual charge of desecration of the dead has been added.
The indictment states that Rieben acted 'knowingly and intentionally, in full awareness and from a selfish attitude and mindset characterised by a need for control, resentment, revenge and massive anger'. Witnesses will include friends of Kristina who will reveal how she had disclosed that her seven-year marriage was floundering in the weeks leading up to the murder. Another witness will be a former partner of Rieben, who says she was also attacked by him during their relationship and that he had a 'violent temper'.
Rieben has been in custody since his arrest, and through his lawyers, has confessed but said he acted in self-defence because Kristina had attacked him and he was worried for their two children. In a previous ruling, a court said Rieben had a 'massive propensity for violence' and 'exhibits sadistic-sociopathic traits, a low frustration tolerance and poor impulse control'.
Media are following the trial via a video link, with only judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers, defendants, and family members allowed in the courtroom itself. In an early move, Ms Von Wartburg tried to have live coverage of the trial banned, but her request was ruled out by the judge, who said that 'as the public were excluded, the media had an important job'. Rieben denies the charges against him.
