Hobby Hunter Drama in the Canton of Jura: What Really Happened

The culture of violence in the hobby hunter milieu has once again claimed 2 human lives.

This morning, two bodies were found in Courfaivre JU. The 47-year-old hobby hunter and falconer is said to have first killed his wife and then himself, reportedly with a knife.

Christophe K. had obtained his hunting licence in 2007. He later worked in the Canton of Jura as an instructor for hobby hunters and served as president of trophy evaluation in the hunting association. His father was already a wildlife killer.

Reconstruction of Events

On the morning of the incident, the hobby hunter had planned to go hunting with a family member. He went to a friend's place in Courfaivre to collect his hunting dogs. He was seen there at 7:30 a.m. At 7:45 a.m. he called his hunting companions to let them know he could meet them later that afternoon. His car was subsequently discovered near his friend's house, along with his dogs and mobile phone.

The French-speaking Swiss portal «Le Matin» reports that the couple had three teenage children. Tragically, one of the children is said to have discovered the dead parents in the apartment in Courfaivre, a few kilometres from Delémont. According to reports, the couple was found naked in the apartment. Two bladed weapons were lying next to the bodies. Both died, however, from a neck wound caused by a sharp object, as the public prosecutor stated.

The public prosecutor's office therefore assumes that a struggle took place between the couple. The woman, who showed more injuries than the man, had cut wounds on her hands, most likely from an attempt to defend herself. Two knives were found near the bodies.

Investigators also found a farewell letter in the deceased couple's apartment. It remains unclear, however, who wrote it. The exact sequence of events is also still under investigation.

The hobby hunter in his final stage was once the owner of the animal park «Siky Ranch» in Crémines in the Bernese Jura. However, he and his wife left the ranch after a few years, apparently due to financial difficulties. Today the park is known as «Siky Park».

Weapons seized

Before the tragedy on October 13, the deceased had filed a complaint against her husband for sexual assault, allegedly committed during the night, in which she was threatened with a weapon, held down, and raped.

According to «Le Matin», police were called to the couple's home. Several firearms were reportedly seized.

Sources close to the crime scene also indicate that the father had been required to leave the family home and that the couple was living separately. A court order had been issued prohibiting the hobby hunter from approaching or contacting his wife.

Since the hobby hunter had no prior criminal record and had not committed any other act of physical or sexual violence apart from this incident, he was not taken into pretrial detention. He was required to hand over his personal key to the house. However, this did not appear to be sufficient for the affected woman's family, who expressed their concerns about the situation to the public prosecutor's office. The woman was therefore questioned again three days before her death. Once again, however, apparently not enough alarming facts had emerged that could have pointed to the impending act.

Forensic police and experts from the Center for Forensic Medicine in Lausanne are currently still conducting on-site investigations.

Hunting weapons lead to abuse

Hunting weapons lead to abuse in all of our social lives. Time and again, there are firearm suicides, threats, and fatal tragedies. Year after year, countless people are injured by hobby hunters and hunters' weapons, sometimes so seriously that they end up in a wheelchair or have limbs amputated.

At the point where violence is discharged, damage is caused just as much as at the point at which it is directed. And this in a very concrete sense at the neuronal level. Neuropsychologists also confirm: the amygdala, a core area of the brain, is noticeably underdeveloped or impaired in violent individuals such as hobby hunters. When this central part of the brain is defective, the sense of disgust, among other things, is switched off.

Update 12.12.2019: Special investigator appointed

An extraordinary prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the killing drama in Courfaivre JU. A lawyer retained by the family accuses the judiciary of the Canton of Jura of failures in protecting the murdered woman.

Just days before her violent death, on 13 October 2019, the woman had filed a complaint against her husband for sexual assault. The man was subsequently arrested but was not remanded in custody.

The family's lawyer is now accusing the judiciary of blatant breaches of its duty of care. He argues it is incomprehensible that no custodial measure was ordered in a case of sexual assault involving violence. Equally incomprehensible, he says, is why Pierre T. had his handguns confiscated but not his arsenal of knives.

Pierre Aubert, Attorney General of the Canton of Neuchâtel, has been appointed as special investigator.