A young man with autism appears Wednesday before the Yverdon Criminal Court (VD) for the murder of his brother, also autistic. He is accused of having killed his younger brother with an ax and setting him on fire one afternoon in April 2020 on a forest road.
KEYSTONE
Shortly before committing his crime, the defendant, then aged 18, went to buy an ax and a bottle of fire starter, reports the indictment. He then returned to his parents, where he lived, to pick up his 17-year-old brother. He had driven him by car outside of Yverdon, in the forest, near a refuge in Cheseaux-Noréaz.
After pulling his younger brother out of the cabin, he struck him several times with an axe. He then doused his victim, who was still breathing, with the liquid fire starter and set him on fire with a lighter.
Seeing two walkers arrive, he hurriedly left the scene of the crime, crashing into part of his car and throwing his bag containing the ax out of the window. He was arrested shortly after by the police.
As for the victim, first rescued by a walker then transferred to the CHUV, she succumbed to her injuries. His parents filed a complaint a few days later.
For the prosecutor in charge of the case, it is the offense of assassination, the heaviest in the Penal Code, which seems to have been carried out. On the other hand, his indictment says nothing about the reason which pushed this man to kill his brother, nor about the psychiatric assessments which have been carried out since his arrest. The trial, scheduled until Thursday, should provide answers.
gsi, ats
