- The 38-year-old was found dead at her home outside of Basel in February
A former Miss Switzerland finalist was allegedly strangled and dismembered with a jigsaw and garden shears before being pureed in a blender by her husband.
The body of 38-year-old model Kristina Joksimovic was found in February in Binningen, near Basel in Switzerland.
Her husband, who was only named by pseudonym Thomas in local media, 41, had an appeal for release from custody rejected today by the Federal Court in Lausanne after admitting to having killed his wife.
An ongoing investigation concluded today there were ‘concrete indications of mental illness’ underlying the case.
Kristina, the mother of their two children, was allegedly killed because she had previously come at him with a knife, dismembering her body ‘in a panic’.
The model’s husband admitted to having killed his wife, claiming self defence, per local media
Kristina, the mother of their two children, was allegedly killed because she had previously come at him with a knife, dismembering her body ‘in a panic’
Kristina’s body was found on the evening of February 13.
Investigators determined that Kristina had been strangled before she died.
The verdict states the suspect confessed to strangling his wife.
An autopsy concluded that the body was then dismembered in the laundry room with a jigsaw, knife and garden shears.
Body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, ‘pureed’ and dissolved in a chemical solution, local outlet Blick reported.
A medical-forensic report also ‘contradicts his description of self-defence’, according to Swiss outlet FM1 Today.
Thomas was reportedly arrested a day after her remains were found by a ‘third party’ in February.
Friends expressed their shock at the news. One told Blick as the news broke: ‘To me, they seemed like the perfect family.’
The couple lived overlooking scenic views from a ‘spacious semi-detached house’ looking over Basel, 20 Minuten reported.
Kristina and her husband had two daughters together
Kristina coached the next generation of models for pageants, as well as businesswomen
Kristina trained Miss Switzerland candidates to follow in her footsteps
Another said the relationship had been ‘in crisis for months’, with police allegedly called out beforehand over reports of physical violence.
Investigators have said Thomas, a businessman, showed a ‘conspicuously high level of criminal energy’ in their assessment.
They cited a ‘lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife’, and his efforts to cover up her death, adding that the defendant had ‘sadistic-sociopathic traits’.
Prosecutors say that the defendant had previously strangled his wife before killing her, local outlet BZ Basel reports.
Kristina, a Binningen native with Serbian roots, had reportedly switched from modelling to become a catwalk coach, inspiring the next generation.
Among other things, she trained Miss Switzerland candidates to follow in her footsteps.
She also trained businesswomen for walking confidently in their professional or private lives.
Kristina, a Binningen native with Serbian roots, took part in a number of pageants in the 2000s
Kristina had once won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant and went on to be a finalist in the 2008 national competition
She had once won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant and went on to be a finalist in the 2008 national competition.
The same year, she founded a coaching and consulting agency for aspiring models.
Former Miss Switzerland Christa Rigozzi shared her ‘shock’ at the news in February.
‘It’s terrible. I’m really shocked,’ she told 20 Minuten. ‘I’m thinking of her two daughters.
‘She was such a beautiful and kind-hearted woman.’