Joksimovic, who had earned the title of Miss Northwest Switzerland and was a finalist for Miss Switzerland in 2007, was found dead and dismembered on February 13.Her 41-year-old husband, identified in local media only as “Thomas,” was arrested shortly after.
According to reports, Joksimovic was brutally strangled, dismembered, and her remains shockingly “pureed” by her husband in a crime that has horrified Switzerland. The 38-year-old’s mutilated body was discovered in February in their home in Binningen, near Basel, and gruesome new details have come to light following a recent court ruling.
Husband claimed he found wife dead
Thomas initially claimed he found her dead and dismembered her body in a panic, but later admitted to killing her in March, citing self-defense after alleging she had attacked him with a knife. However, medical experts found no evidence of this, and her cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
His plea was denied by Switzerland’s federal court on Wednesday. The court disclosed shocking elements of the ongoing investigation, which has revealed “concrete indications of a mental illness.” Thomas claimed he killed Joksimovic in self-defense, alleging she had previously attacked him with a knife, but the evidence told a different, horrifying story.
What really happened?
On the night of February 13, Joksimovic’s body was found strangled. According to the autopsy report, her remains were dismembered using a jigsaw, a knife, and garden shears.
The horror escalated when investigators discovered that some of her body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, “pureed,” and dissolved in a chemical solution.
Despite his self-defense claim, experts found no signs of any such struggle.
Instead, prosecutors pointed to the chilling nature of the crime. Thomas had shown “a high level of criminal energy, lack of empathy, and cold-bloodedness” in both the killing and the subsequent attempt to cover up his actions. He initially told authorities he had panicked after finding her dead, dismembering her in a frenzy.
Thomas has history of abuse
This wasn’t the first time Thomas had been violent. Prosecutors revealed that he had choked his wife before. In fact, a former partner of his alleged that he had once grabbed Joksimovic by the neck and slammed her head into a wall, suggesting a history of abuse that had gone unchecked.
Who was Kristina Joksimovic?
Joksimovic, who was crowned Miss Northwest Switzerland and reached the finals for Miss Switzerland in 2007, was much more than a beauty queen. She had later pursued a career as a catwalk coach, mentoring models, including Dominique Rinderknecht, who represented Switzerland in the Miss Universe pageant in 2013.
Her friends and the modeling community have been left in shock. Former Miss Switzerland Christa Rigozzi expressed her disbelief after the details of the murder were revealed. “It’s terrible. I’m really shocked,” Rigozzi told Swiss media outlet 20 Minuten. “I’m thinking of her two daughters. She was such a beautiful and kind-hearted woman.”
The family, on the surface, appeared to lead a perfect life.
Thomas was a successful entrepreneur, and their social media painted a picture of domestic bliss. Just weeks before the murder, the couple had posted photos from a romantic getaway at Lake Lucerne. But behind the facade was a history of violence and darkness that ultimately led to this horrifying tragedy.
The brutal murder has left the couple’s two daughters without their mother, and the shocking nature of the crime has sent ripples through Switzerland.