Warning: This article contains graphic details and discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
Disturbing details have surfaced following the death of a former prominent Swiss model, with serious accusations directed at her husband.
In 2007, Kristina Joksimovic had a promising future after winning the Miss Northwest Switzerland title in a pageant, eventually becoming a finalist for Miss Switzerland.
This launched her into a fashion career, leading her to establish her own business as a catwalk coach. She later mentored fellow Swiss model Dominique Rinderknecht for the Miss Universe pageant six years later.
However, her glamorous life in the modeling world took a dramatic turn, and 17 years later, at the age of 38, she was tragically found dead in her home in February.
Joksimovic resided in Binningen, a municipality south of Basel, near the French and German borders in northern Switzerland.
On the evening of February 13, just before Valentine’s Day, she was found dead by a ‘third party,’ according to a local media report at the time.
Since then, Swiss police have launched an investigation into her death, with a suspect identified as 41-year-old Thomas, her husband.
Authorities allege that Thomas strangled his wife before dismembering her body and blending the pieces.
Thomas remains in jail following his arrest, as his appeal to the Swiss Federal Court was denied by judges.
According to local outlet BZ Basel, the court’s ruling mentioned that the accused admitted to killing his wife during a crime reconstruction in March.
At that time, he claimed he acted in self-defence, alleging that Joksimovic had previously attacked him with a knife.
This contradicted his earlier claims that he found his wife dead and, in a state of panic, decided to dismember her in the laundry room, according to the ruling.
A forensic report further contradicted his self-defence claim.
The Basel-based publication reported that the forensic analysis indicated she was strangled before being dismembered with garden shears, an electric jigsaw, and a knife.
Her body parts were then ‘chopped up with a hand blender, pureed, and dissolved in a chemical.’
The suspect was arrested the day after Joksimovic’s body was discovered, and he now awaits trial.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can speak confidentially 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). You can find a list of local resources here.