More disturbing allegations have been presented in court regarding the killing and dismemberment of Kristina Joksimovic, a former Miss Switzerland finalist, as her husband’s trial began.
Joksimovic, a mother of two, lived with her 42-year-old husband Marc Riebens in the affluent Basel-area suburb of Binnington, where the couple were widely viewed as a stable, “perfect” family.
According to the case outlined in court, events escalated in February 2024 during a conversation about the couple separating. Prosecutors allege Joksimovic wanted a divorce, while Riebens would not accept the end of the marriage and pushed for full custody of their children.
On Monday, May 4, prosecutors described what they say happened next: an alleged attack that ended with Joksimovic dead, followed by attempts to destroy evidence—culminating, they allege, in her remains being turned into “puree” using an industrial blender.
In court, prosecutors claimed Riebens pinned his wife against a wall and strangled her using a “ribbon-like object” before going on to mutilate her body.
The Sun reports that the autopsy described extensive injuries, including major blunt force trauma, facial cuts, and bruising across her body. It was also reported that hair had been torn from her scalp.
Prosecutors further alleged that Riebens dismembered Joksimovic’s body using multiple tools, including a jigsaw, a knife, and garden shears.
They also argued the disposal was not merely an effort to hide what happened, citing investigators’ findings that her womb had been “carefully removed”. Experts told the court this suggested “deliberate mutilation or ritualised degradation of the body”.
Another detail raised on the first day of proceedings at Basel-Landschaft Criminal Court was the allegation that Riebens watched YouTube videos as he dismembered her.
He is accused of using chemicals to dissolve some parts of her body and an industrial blender for others. Riebens does not deny killing Joksimovic, but has claimed he acted in self defense, saying he dismembered and blended her “in a panic.”
Police later searched the basement of the family home and reportedly found “a large number” of skin flaps, with muscle and bone still attached.
Prosecutors said the crime was first uncovered not by officers, but by Joksimovic’s father, who became concerned when she failed to collect her children from kindergarten.
When he went to the family home and asked where she was, Riebens allegedly claimed he did not know. Prosecutors said that while her remains were nearby, he prepared an evening meal for the children and tried to calm his father-in-law’s concerns.
After Joksimovic’s mother also called seeking answers, her father reportedly began looking around the house for anything that might explain her absence—eventually heading into the basement.
There, he reportedly noticed a black rubbish bag with strands of blonde hair protruding. “When he opened the black bin bag, he saw her cut off head with the hair still attached,” a family friend said.
Joksimovic’s father is then said to have run outside, screaming for help and urging passersby to call police, before returning to confront Riebens.
Local media reported that when Riebens was arrested, he showed no emotion. His lawyers later conveyed a confession to killing and dismembering his wife, while maintaining he acted in self defense and alleging she “suddenly attacked him with a knife”.
An expert witness told the court that in many such situations people surrender to authorities, rather than carry out what was described as a “prompt, purposeful, and methodically executed” effort to remove evidence.
The same expert said such actions would typically be taken to “eliminate as many traces as possible, including the body, in order to conceal what actually happened”.
Prosecutors also told the court they would point to alleged prior violence, including claims of assaulting a former partner and an earlier incident in which Joksimovic was allegedly strangled, supported by photographic evidence.
The indictment, which could result in convictions for murder and desecrating the dead, alleges Riebens had “a selfish attitude and mindset characterised by a need for control, hurt feelings, revenge, and intense rage.”
He has remained in custody since his arrest in February 2024.
Friends and acquaintances have spoken publicly about their shock. Former Miss Switzerland Nadine Vinzens said: “She always made a happy impression on me. I would never have thought that her husband would do something like that.”
Another friend added: “To me, they seemed like the perfect family.”