The man who confessed to killing his daughter’s teacher at a St Gallen school committed suicide, authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
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On Friday, 52-year-old Ded Gecaj was found dead in a St Gallen prison cell shortly before 7am. He hanged himself with a strip of material made from his clothes.
The involvement of another party could be ruled out, the investigating authorities said in a statement.
However, investigations are continuing, to determine whether the conditions in which he was detained played a role in his death. Gecaj had repeatedly criticised the prison conditions.
He had been under medical supervision and had last seen his doctor four days before he died. The doctor had found him to be well. He was last seen alive at about 7pm on the evening before his death.
Gecaj was accused of killing teacher Paul Spirig in 1999. His daughter had told Spirig that Gecaj was sexually abusing her, and the teacher attempted to intervene with the family, provoking Gecaj’s anger.
After the killing, Gecaj fled to his homeland of Kosovo, then still part of Serbia, where a court sentenced him to four years for manslaughter after he confessed to the crime. He was freed two years later.
He was re-arrested in May on the basis of a request from the St Gallen authorities, who wanted to try him for murder rather than manslaughter, as well as on charges of sexually abusing his daughter.
Kosovo cooperated with the Swiss Justice Office and Gecaj was extradited from Kosovo to Switzerland in September this year.
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Switzerland gets Kosovar killer extradited
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Ded Gecaj arrived on Thursday and was taken straight to the St Gallen prosecutor’s office. Gecaj is accused of killing teacher Paul Spirig in 1999. Afterwards he fled to his homeland of Kosovo, then still part of Serbia, where a court sentenced him to four years for manslaughter after he confessed to the crime. He…
Serbian court hands down four year sentence to killer of Swiss teacher
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The Swiss embassy in Belgrade announced on Friday that Ded Gecaj had been sentenced in his absence to four years by a Serbian court last December. The court ruled that Gecaj could only be held partially culpable for the killing of Paul Spirig, on the basis of several psychiatric evaluations. Gecaj shot his daughter’s teacher…
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President Pascal Couchepin said Switzerland would establish diplomatic relations with the breakaway Serbian province after it declared independence ten days ago. Couchepin said the government took the decision on Wednesday following consultations with two key parliamentary committees. He said the government welcomed a commitment by the authorities in Kosovo to protect ethnic minorities and accept…
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In the capital Pristina, as in the rest of the province, there is much evidence of the close relations between Kosovo and Switzerland. (Photos: Luigi Jorio)
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