A former model and Miss Switzerland finalist who was allegedly murdered by her husband was found to have been strangled, dismembered and her remains put through a handheld blender, medical reports reveal.
Kristina Joksimovic, 38, was found dead in her home in Binningen, near Basel, in February.
Her husband and father of her two children, named only as Thomas by local media, admitted to killing her in March, according to the Federal Court. However, his claim that he was acting in self-defence was contradicted by the medical forensic report.
A court ruling on Wednesday found that Ms Joksimovic had been strangled to death and reported that there were “concrete indications of mental illness” underlying the case.
A post-mortem included in the ruling said that her body had been dismembered with a jigsaw knife and garden shears in the laundry room of the couple’s home.
Her remains were then liquidised with a handheld blender and dissolved in a chemical solution, the report added.
Ms Joksimovic’s remains were discovered on Feb 13 by a third party.
Thomas was detained by authorities the day after but initially told investigators that he had dismembered her in a “panic” after discovering her dead.
He later claimed to have killed her in self-defence after she came at him with a knife.
According to investigators, Thomas showed a “conspicuously high level of criminal energy” in their assessment.
They spoke of a “lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife” and added that Thomas had “sadistic-sociopathic traits”.
The couple, who married in 2017, were reportedly going through marital difficulties, with police called to their place of residence before the incident over reports of physical violence.
Just four weeks before she was killed, Ms Joksimovic shared photos on social media of a “couple’s getaway” at a luxurious hotel above Lake Lucerne.
The pair had two young daughters.
Ms Joksimovic was crowned Miss Northwest Switzerland and went on to be a finalist in the Miss Switzerland competition in 2007.
‘They seemed like the perfect family’
The couple lived in an affluent area of Basel, Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported.
One friend told the Swiss German-language daily, Blick: “To me, they seemed like the perfect family.”
But another friend said their relationship had been “in crisis” for months.
After her time competing, Ms Joksimovic launched a career coaching other models and beauty pageant contestants.
Fellow contestants shared their condolences when the news of her death first broke.
Nadine Vinzens, her friend and Miss Switzerland 2002, told Nau.ch news: “I knew her well and I met him briefly. I am totally shocked and heartbroken. Never in my life would I have thought that something like this would happen.”
She later wrote on Ms Joksimovic’s social media page: “I’m so heartbroken. You were such a good and nice person. I will not ever forget the time in LA with you. RIP my beauty.”
Lorena Santen, who was crowned Miss Switzerland in 2023 and was trained by Ms Joksimovic, said: “We will miss you so much.”
Dominique Rinderknecht, former Miss Switzerland, who was also trained by Ms Joksimovic in the lead-up to her appearance at the 2013 Miss Universe competition, described her shock at the news.
“It is very, very sad and shocking what has happened. I am also so incredibly sorry for the children,” she told Nau.
Christa Rigozzi, another former Miss Switzerland contestant, told 20 Minuten: “It’s terrible. I’m really shocked. I’m thinking of her two daughters. She was such a beautiful and kind-hearted woman.”
Miriam Rickli, who was in the Miss Switzerland final alongside Ms Joksimovic, said she was “speechless” at the news.