She was found dead in her home in February
A former model and finalist in the Miss Switzerland contest, Kristina Joksimovic, 38, was allegedly murdered and dismembered by her husband, according to Swiss officials.
Joksimovic was discovered dead in her home in Binningen, near Basel, Switzerland, on February 13. Local news outlet BZ Basel reported that a 41-year-old man named Thomas, her husband since 2017, had his appeal for release from custody denied by the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne.
He allegedly confessed to killing his wife, with whom he shared two children.
Thomas reportedly admitted to the crime during a reconstruction in March, claiming it was in self-defense after she allegedly attacked him with a knife.
Investigators concluded the ex-model had been strangled to death and Thomas was arrested the next day, LBC reports.
The court ruling held that Joksimovic was strangled to death, BZ Basel reports. The autopsy report, cited in the ruling, indicated that her body was then dismembered in a laundry room using a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears.
Parts of her body were then chopped up with a hand blender, “pureed,” and dissolved in a chemical solution.
BZ Basel reports that Thomas was arrested a day after Joksimovic’s remains were found. Initially, he told investigators that he had discovered her dead and dismembered her body in a panic.
The German-language outlet Blick reported that her remains were discovered by a “third party.” Thomas, a Swiss national, remains in custody.
Joksimovic was crowned Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant, and reached the final of Miss Switzerland in 2007, local outlet 20 Minuten reports.
She went on to run her own business as a catwalk coach, and mentored model Dominique Rinderknecht for the Miss Universe pageant in 2013.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
