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Man and wife strangled in Geneva murder

A 66-year-old man and his 64-year-old wife recently found dead in a Geneva apartment were both strangled, according to the latest information released by authorities.

Published: 13 November 2012 23:18 CET

Man and wife strangled in Geneva murder

Home where the drama unfolded (Photo: Google Street View)

The bodies of the couple were discovered by cantonal police on Saturday in an apartment building at 2 Rue Jean-Simonet in the Châtelaine neighbourhood.

Police broke into the apartment after relatives expressed concern about not hearing from the man and woman.

The Geneva justice department on Tuesday confirmed the criminal nature of their deaths.

“The investigation showed that they were both violently hit on the upper part of the body and the head,” the department said in a news release.

“Their deaths were caused by strangulation.”

The announcement confirmed information published earlier in the day on the website of the Tribune de Genève newspaper.

The woman was found in the living room of the apartment, while the man was covered by a carpet and laid out between two rooms.

The couple were originally from the canton of Schwyz but had lived in Geneva for 30 years, the Tribune reported.

Another newspaper, Le Matin, reported that the apartment had ben ransacked.

The couple had lived a life “without incident”, according to residents.

The justice department said an investigation to determine who was responsible for the “murders” continues.

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Could Geneva be first Swiss canton to grant foreign residents more voting rights?

Foreigners are not allowed to vote on national level anywhere in Switzerland.

Though there had been attempts in the past to change this rule, the latest such move was turned down by legislators in 2022.

However, five cantons are permitting foreign residents to cast their votes in local referendums and elections: Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, and Jura. Conditions vary from one canton to another, but in all cases a certain length of stay and a residence permit are required.

(In Zurich, a similar move was rejected in 2023).

Of the five cantons, only Neuchâtel and Jura authorise foreign residents to vote on cantonal level in addition to communal one; in the others, they can cast municipal ballots only.

Additionally, three other cantons have similar laws on their books, but they this legislation remains mostly inactive.

Basel-City, Graubünden, and Appenzell-Ausserrhoden have authorised their communes to introduce the right to vote, the right to elect, and the right to be elected for their non-Swiss residents.

However, only few of the communes in these cantons have actually introduced these measures.

Wait…Geneva’s foreigners already have the right to vote?

Yes, they have had this right since 2005, but only on municipal level.

However, this could change on June 9th, when Geneva residents will go to the polls to weigh in on an initiative launched by the trade unions and political left, calling for foreigners who have lived in the canton for at least eight years, to be able to vote and stand as candidates for political offices at the cantonal level.

This ‘upgrade’ to the cantonal voting rights is important, supporters argue, because it would enable foreigners to have more political impact.

“Municipal votes are quite rare, and the issues at stake are relatively limited,” the initiative committee said.

Therefore, “access to the cantonal vote will allow these same people to express their views on wider subjects that affect them on a daily basis.”

Is this measure likely to be accepted?

No reliable forecasts exist at this point.

And while foreigners constitute nearly 40 percent of Geneva’s population — the highest proportion in Switzerland — it will be up to Swiss citizens to decide on the outcome.

However, some members of the Geneva parliament are urging the ‘no’ vote on June 9th.

“No canton, no country, provides such generous rights to their foreigners,” the MPs from the centre parties pointed out in an interview with Tribune de Genève over the weekend.

(Neuchâtel and Jura allow voting, but not standing for election, at cantonal level).

“The only path for foreigners to obtain full political rights is through naturalisation,” the MPs added.

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