The devastated parents of a Swiss beauty queen cried openly in court as the man who murdered, dismembered and pureed her remains was jailed for life.
Marc Rieben showed no emotion as he was found guilty of the heinous killing and desecration of wife Kristina Joksimovic’s body, however he was seen to slightly stumble as the verdict was read, Daily Mail reported.
The father-of-two had previously admitted to the February 2024 killing but the court rejected his claim of self-defence.
Harrowing details of the crime that made global headlines were revealed during Rieben’s trial in Basel-Landschaft Criminal Court in Muttenz.
Prosecutors told the court Rieben had grabbed his wife by the neck and choked her using a “band-shaped strangulation device”, leaving her to suffocate “agonisingly”.
To cover his tracks, Rieben then spent hours using a jigsaw, garden shears, a knife and then the family blender to dismember and dispose of Joksimovic’s body.
The court was also told Rieben, who one expert diagnosed as having narcissistic traits and obsessive-compulsive disorder, removed Ms Joksimovic’s uterus while he went about his gruesome task.
Ms Joksimovic’s father discovered parts of her body at her home in an up-market village in Basel. He had gone looking for her after she failed to pick up her children from school.
In sentencing Rieben, judge Daniel Schmid said “There are cases that make fiction become reality. This case has changed our reality,” Daily Mail reported.
“No court ruling can fill the void left by the loss of a loved one. We as a court will also never forget you and will carry you in our hearts.”
Judge Schmid also ordered Rieben to pay 100,000 Swiss Francs compensation to the couple’s two daughters aged five and six, while Joksimovic’s father was awarded 120,000 Swiss Francs, her mother 100,000 and her sister 60,000 Francs.
Outside court the sentence was greeted by applause from a gathered crowd.
Strict conditions were in place during the trial due to its gruesome nature. Media outlets had to follow the trial via a videolink, with only judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers, defendants and family members allowed in the actual courtroom.
