Husband cleared of throwing wife off balcony
A man in Stockholm county has been released by a court of appeals from a nine-year prison sentence for attempted murder, after allegations that he threw his wife off their balcony.
The alleged incident took place in February 2013 when emergency services were rushed to an apartment block in Södertälje after a woman fell from the sixth floor.
She survived but suffered severe injuries. After awaking from a coma, she identified her husband as the person who threw her off the balcony.
The 28-year-old man was subsequently arrested and was charged with attempted murder. In April has was sentenced to nine years behind bars.
Police carried out a technical investigation of the crime scene and found blood stains splattered throughout the apartment which matched the woman's DNA.
District Prosecutor Martina Winslow said it was clear the man had tried to kill the woman, and that the couple had been rowing on the evening of the fall.
In his defence, the man claimed that his wife had tried to kill herself by jumping from the balcony. He lodged an appeal with the Svea Court of Appeals and was acquitted on Monday, reported the Länstidningen Södertälje newspaper.
In the ruling the judge said that, as a result of the brain injuries the woman suffered in the fall, the court questioned the credibility of her testimony.
She had claimed that her husband had carried her out of the bathroom and launched her off the balcony, leaving a trail of blood along the way.
The court was unable to determine how the bloodstains, which led from the bathroom to the balcony, had gotten there or how old they were.
As a result the man was acquitted from the attempted murder charge as the court could not prove beyond all reasonable doubt whether he had thrown her off the balcony.
The Local/pr
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The alleged incident took place in February 2013 when emergency services were rushed to an apartment block in Södertälje after a woman fell from the sixth floor.
She survived but suffered severe injuries. After awaking from a coma, she identified her husband as the person who threw her off the balcony.
The 28-year-old man was subsequently arrested and was charged with attempted murder. In April has was sentenced to nine years behind bars.
Police carried out a technical investigation of the crime scene and found blood stains splattered throughout the apartment which matched the woman's DNA.
District Prosecutor Martina Winslow said it was clear the man had tried to kill the woman, and that the couple had been rowing on the evening of the fall.
In his defence, the man claimed that his wife had tried to kill herself by jumping from the balcony. He lodged an appeal with the Svea Court of Appeals and was acquitted on Monday, reported the Länstidningen Södertälje newspaper.
In the ruling the judge said that, as a result of the brain injuries the woman suffered in the fall, the court questioned the credibility of her testimony.
She had claimed that her husband had carried her out of the bathroom and launched her off the balcony, leaving a trail of blood along the way.
The court was unable to determine how the bloodstains, which led from the bathroom to the balcony, had gotten there or how old they were.
As a result the man was acquitted from the attempted murder charge as the court could not prove beyond all reasonable doubt whether he had thrown her off the balcony.
The Local/pr
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