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Swiss banker ‘kills wife and buries her in garden’

A 49-year-old Swiss banker has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and burying her corpse in the garden, days after he reported her missing.

Published: 22 December 2011 12:50 CET

The body of Andrea Achermann, 43, was found by police on Wednesday in the back garden of the house she shared with husband Ueli in the small village of Untereggen, high above Lake Constance.

Ueli Achermann, a 49-year-old computer scientist who workedat Raiffeisen Bank’s headquarters in Sankt Gallen, was arrested shortly after the discovery, newspaper Blick reported.

Achermann was last seen in the evening of December 2nd at her family house. The next morning, her car was found in the neighbouring village of Goldach. It was unlocked.

The Sankt Gallen cantonal police released a missing person warning on December 13th. The report was based on the information provided by her husband.

After days of extensive searches, the police found the missing woman’s body in the garden of the family house. The corpse has not yet been formally identified, Blick reports that the police are sure it is that of Andrea Achermann.

Police say they believe she was murdered:

“The state of the body points out to an act of violence,” the police said in an statement released on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the police have enough evidence to believe her husband is to blame for her death. He was arrested few hours after the discovery and has been remanded in custody.

The Achermanns had moved into their newly built house in Untereggen in May 2009. A neighbour cited by the paper said that the marriage may have broken down, but that they were still living under the same roof for sake of their three children, aged 12, 10 and 7.

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Why are thefts increasing in Switzerland?

As reported earlier this week by The Local, new figures from the Federal Statistics Office show that Switzerland experienced an overall fourteen percent increase in crimes committed in 2023.

Theft is one crime that demonstrated an exceptionally sharp rise—thefts of goods from cars, for example, have risen by seventy-one percent.

However, before worrying about a crime wave, it’s essential to consider the role that two closely related factors may play in these figures.

The pandemic effect

In the years since the easing of lockdown restrictions, research institutions worldwide have been examining its effects on almost every facet of society, with crime no exception.

A 2021 study by the University of Cambridge and the University of Utrecht found that urban crime levels dropped by a third during lockdowns, including in Switzerland.

Like many other European nations, Switzerland’s pandemic response continued into mid-2022, when the last measures were ended. The country’s mountainous geography also made enforcing travel restrictions easier than in many other countries.

What is reflected in the new numbers is the return of ‘crime tourists’, criminal gangs from other countries such as Romania and Albania, who may see relatively affluent Switzerland and the frequent cross-border traffic as fruitful pickings.

As criminologist Dirk Baier told news portal Swissinfo.ch: “Switzerland is attractive. That means we have criminal tourists who come here from abroad just for this purpose.

“There is something to be gained here, there is wealth here and there is a somewhat inattentive population that, for example, does not lock its cars or sometimes leaves its apartment doors open.”

Baier also suggested that the relative ease that with which thefts can be committed plays a role:

“Certain crimes were discovered (…) that are easy to carry out, such as ‘sneak-in thefts’, opening the car door somewhere and taking something out.

“You can see that individual perpetrators can really commit such crimes on a large scale.”

Cost of living woes

While some have noted that the rising cost of living was not felt as keenly in Switzerland as the pandemic ended, the situation changed somewhat in 2023.

The ‘Pulse of Switzerland‘ study, published by Deloitte Consulting in early 2024, revealed that sixty percent of Swiss had cut back their spending and were eating out less, resulting in flow-on effects across several retail and hospitality sectors.

While the spike in unemployment caused by the pandemic was primarily reversed, the persistence of global inflation resulted in Swiss unemployment rising in early 2024.

It rose to two point four percent in February, with a projected rate of two point five percent in early 2025.

Traditionally, there is a strong association between inflation, unemployment, and crime. As the demand for cheaper stolen goods increases—particularly for electronics, jewellery, and handbags—so does the incentive for theft.

Again, it’s not unexpected that crime rates—particularly theft rates —would increase as inflation continues to worry consumers.

Still a safe place to be

The ‘perfect’ storm of a global pandemic shutting down society’s normal functioning for several months and the ensuing surge in inflation caused by the disruption have resulted in crime figures that may ring alarm bells.

However, it’s important to note that by almost all metrics, Switzerland remains one of the safest places to live in the world.

It maintains a place in Europe’s top ten safest countries, as identified by the Global Peace Index.

According to the Better Life Index, it is also a place where 86 percent of the population feels safe walking at night.

With a bit of attention paid to securing your valuables and not leaving them unattended in vehicles, you have no need to worry.

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