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The man accused of killing his Miss Switzerland finalist wife and putting her remains in a blender has been described as the “ideal husband” by his own lawyer.
Marc Rieben, 43, allegedly used a jigsaw, a knife and garden shears to dismember Kristina Joksimovic’s body before blending her remains ina kitchen appliance in February 2024, the Daily Mail reported.
The defendant, who was charged in December with murder, has insisted the killing was in self-defence, reported the New York Post. While disposing of her body, he also removed an organ, resulting in an additional charge of desecration of the dead, according to the indictment filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Basel.
The lawyer for Marc Rieben said he was a great husband. Photo / Kristina Joksimov
Rieben allegedly took Joksimovic by the throat and threw her against the wall after an argument, then strangled her to death with a “ribbon-like object”, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail.
It was Joksimovic’s father who discovered his daughter had been murdered.
He became concerned after she didn’t pick her children up from school. He went to the house Joksimovic and Rieben shared and met the husband, a friend of the couple told the Daily Mail.
Rieben said he didn’t know where Joksimovic was. But Joksimovic’s father searched the laundry room and opened a bag, the source said.
“When [Joksimovic’s father] opened the black bin bag, he saw her cut off head with the hair still attached,” the source said.
Rieben arrived at court in a dark suit and white shirt, accompanied by his legal team.
His lawyer called him the “ideal husband”, while Rieben said he was “just trying to help and look after his wife”.
A court-appointed expert had never seen anything like this case before. Photo / Kristina Joksimov
The father of two young children – aged 5 and 6 – faces life in prison if convicted.
At the opening of the trial, Rieben told the court he loved his wife - a former Miss Switzerland finalist - and her death was an accident.
“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,” he said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
“It haunts me day and night. What I did is absolutely unforgivable, and I take full responsibility. I deeply regret it, and I apologise.”
Kristina Joksimovic was a Miss Switzerland finalist. Photo / Kristina Joksimovic
Professor Frank Urbaniok, a court-appointed expert, said in court that Rieben was diagnosed with narcissistic traits and obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to the Daily Mail.
He said Rieben had acted with “almost meticulous precision”, saying that after killing his wife, he had taken his two young children out for dinner and behaved as though nothing had happened.
“I have been working as an expert witness for 33 years and overseen 5000 cases,” Urbaniok said, the Daily Mail reported.
“I have seen many people who have committed homicides against intimate partners. But I have never seen anything like this before.”
