Husband who killed miss Switzerland contestant and ‘pureed remains in blender’ jailed for life

A man has been jailed for life after he was found guilty of murdering his wife and then putting her body in a blender.

Marc Rieben, 43, was found guilty of the killing of Miss Switerland finalist Kristina Joksimovic, 38, as her family looked on in tears.

Kristina's father discovered her remains after the brutal murder and dismemberment of her body, and was seen crying in court as the judgement was handed down to Rieben for the 2024 killing.

The murder happened in February 2024, with some details of the case deemed to be so graphic that the public could not sit on the court hearings, and journalists reporting on the case had to sit in an adjacent court.

Sentencing Rieben for the crime, Judge Daniel Schmid said: "There are cases that make fiction become reality. This case has changed our reality.

"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."

Kristina was killed at the age of 38 (Instagram)

The case was widely covered in the news, and a crowd of approximately 50 people had gathered outside the court in Muttenz on the day of the decision, meaning that police had to be called in for the hearing.

In addition to his life sentence, Rieben was ordered to pay pay 100,000 Swiss Francs (around £94,000) in compensation to the two daughters that he had with Kristina, who are aged five and six, as well as 120,000 (around £113,000) to her father, 100,000 to her mother, and 60,000 (around £56,000) to her sister.

Prosecutors in the horrifying case said: "The man's behaviour after the crime was almost beyond belief in its cruelty and absurdity.

"The man acted systematically and with a plan; his behaviour demonstrated the full extent of his hatred for his wife."

In the trial opening Rieben claimed that Kristina's death was 'an accident', saying: "I have caused my family immeasurable suffering. Why? Why did I fail? Why couldn't I prevent it? Why couldn't I stop her from dying at my hands? I loved my wife with all my heart and believed in a future together.

'It haunts me day and night. What I did is absolutely unforgivable, and I take full responsibility. I deeply regret it, and I apologise."

The former Miss Switzerland worked as a cat walk coach (Instagram)

In the court case, it was told how Rieben, a businessman, had grabbed Kristina by the neck and pushed her against a wall.

He had then strangled her using a 'ribbonlike' implement, as well as punching and kicking her, and strangling her 'perfidiously, cruelly and in cold blood'.

After killing his wife, the court heard how Rieben had then disposed of her body in a laundry room underground, using a jigsaw, a knife, some 10 litres of bleach, and a blender., as well as removing her uterus.

The nature in which he disposed of her body was so severe it led to a further charge of desecration of the dead.

Anina Hofer, a lawyer representing Kristina's parents, previously read out a statement from Kristina's mum.

It said: "I stand here today in court as a mother who has lost her daughter. Whose children miss their mummy every day.

"She was loving, protective of her children, and gave them everything. Just one month after she tried to forge a new path for herself and her children, she was brutally torn from life.

"No verdict can bring our daughter back. But it can show that her life matters."