Jump to content

Corinne Rey-Bellet: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 90: Line 90:
[[Category:Femicide]]
[[Category:Femicide]]
[[Category:Familicides]]
[[Category:Familicides]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in Switzerland]]

Revision as of 06:03, 16 December 2024

Corinne Rey-Bellet
Personal information
Born(1972-08-02)2 August 1972
Les Crosets, Valais, Switzerland
Died30 April 2006(2006-04-30) (aged 33)
Les Crosets
OccupationAlpine skier ♀
Height163 cm (5 ft 4 in)[1]
Weight62 kg (137 lb)[1]
Spouse
Gerold Stadler
​
(m. 2002)​
Children1
Skiing career
Retired2003
Websiterey-bellet.com
Medal record
Women's alpine skiing
Representing  Switzerland
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2003 St. Moritz Downhill

Corinne Rey-Bellet (2 August 1972 – 30 April 2006) was a Swiss alpine skier. Rey-Bellet shared a World Championship silver medal in the downhill event in St. Moritz in 2003 and won a total of five World Cup races. Her double win at St Anton am Arlberg on 16 January 1999 is the only double win on the same day in the women's Alpine World Cup. She retired in 2003 due to a series of injuries sustained to her right knee.

On 30 April 2006, her husband Gerold Stadler murdered her and her brother, shortly after she separated from him. He killed himself two days later. Her murder attracted a significant amount of public attention and resulted in increased political and institutional pressure to fight domestic violence, and influenced the debate on changing Swiss gun laws. Stadler was a captain in the Swiss Armed Forces, and used his service pistol in her murder; following her death, laws were changed to prohibit the keeping of military ammunition by soldiers at home. In 2021, Rey-Bellet was honored by the Swiss government as part of the Hommage 2021 project to honor women significant to Swiss history.

Early life

Rey Bellet was born 2 August 1972 in Les Crosets in the Valais, Switzerland.[2][3] She grew up skiing, having in an interest in it from her early childhood.[3] She took college classes in Martigny in economics, though her first year attended little, instead preferring to ski.[3]

Career

She shared a World Championship silver medal in the downhill event in St. Moritz in 2003 (in a tie with Alexandra Meissnitzer)[4] and won a total of five World Cup races from 1992 to 2003.[2][5] She placed 17th in the women's giant slalom at the 1992 Winter Olympics.[6]

Her career was marked by repeated injuries. In 1992, she injured her shoulder, tearing her meniscus the following year, and tore the cruciate ligament in her right knee after a severe fall in 1996.[3] For this injury she had to undergo surgery. She underwent kinesiology treaments (an alternative medicine) to help her regain movement in it, which she believed helped her recovery. While competing she used alternative medicine treatments (other examples including acupuncture and homeopathy) to treat allergies, to the chagrin of her skiing team's doctors.[7]

On 16 January 1999, she won two races, the downhill and the super-G in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup at St Anton am Arlberg. She was the first and only woman to win two races on one day in the Alpine World Ski Championships.[3][8] In 2003, she won a silver medal at the World Skiing Championship in St. Moritz in Switzerland, in the downhill event.[3] She retired later that year to start a family, becoming a stay-at-home mother.[7] This was also due to her knee injuries, as she had developed osteoarthritis.[3][9]

Personal life

Following her usage of kinesiology treatments to recover from her injuries, she became passionate about it and began practicing it at home.[7][9] On 4 May 2002,[3] she married Gerold "Gery" Stadler, a private banker for Credit Suisse and a captain in the Swiss Armed Forces.[5][10][11] Stadler was from Abtwil in the Canton of Aargau.[9] They met as part of a financial monitoring program from Credit Suisse for prominent Swiss athletes.[12] In 2004, six months after her retirement, they had a son,[7][3] living together in Abtwil.[9] She told L'Illustré magazine in 2004 that she had always wanted to be a mother,[3] though said that Stadler was now the main provider; L'Illustré noted this had cost her her independence.[7]

While she presented to the public and media a very happy marriage, those that knew them thought she was lonely and that they were having marital problems. According to the pastor that married them, she told him that she was attempting to fix their marriage; Stadler refused to speak of it to anyone and kept up "a facade".[9] Stadler became physically abusive, which resulted in her needing to be taken to the hospital on several occasions.[13][14][9] Stadler's family claimed that he had assaulted her once, after which he had confessed to them and her parents, and that afterwards they had received couples therapy with Stadler also receiving individual therapy.[15] She became pregnant again after this incident.[15]

Murder

In April 2006, she separated from Stadler, and moved back to Les Crosets with her parents. About ten days later, on 30 April 2006, Stadler murdered Rey-Bellet in her parents' home.[4][5][9] Before this, he had brought their son home, and put him to bed upstairs. Afterwards, Stadler and Rey-Bellet had gone downstairs at 9:30 and had a conversation about their separation. Both of Rey-Bellet's parents were home at the time, as was her brother, Alain; her father left shortly after the conversation started. Shortly after her father left, Stadler opened fire, killing Rey-Bellet and Alain, and seriously injuring her mother.[5][16] Her mother was left disabled without use of her arm, having been shot five times.[17]

Stadler used his service pistol, which all Swiss men under the age of 42 are issued, in the killing.[2][10][18] Rey-Bellet was three months pregnant.[16] Her brother Alain was to have been married the following Friday. Corinne and Stadler's son was left unharmed.[16][5] Stadler fled the scene in his car, which was found abandoned with an empty magazine inside.[12] A warrant was issued for his arrest, resulting in a large manhunt.[17][16] Stadler's parents arrived, only to be put into hiding in case Stadler targeted them as well.[12] His body was recovered in a forest in Huémoz [fr] near Ollon in the Vaud canton on 3 May 2006,[16][5] having killed himself roughly 36 hours before.[19] The crime was premeditated, with Stadler leaving two notes, one addressed to his parents and the other to his employer. In the note to his parents he asked his parents to raise their son. In both notes he says the crime he was going to commit and why.[14]

Legacy

Her murder attracted much public attention; Rey-Bellet was a celebrity and the murder had happened in what was viewed as a "perfect Swiss family". This resulted in increased political and institutional pressure to fight domestic violence.[20] The case also influenced the debate on changing Swiss gun laws.[21][22] Following the shooting, laws were instated banning the storage of military ammo at home, and instead of guns being mandatory to keep at home members of the army could also keep their weapons at a central register.[23][22][24]

Her son, orphaned in the shootings, was placed with a related foster family; this followed several high profile custody controversies between the families on both sides.[5][17][9] While attempting to get custody, Rey-Bellet's family claimed that Stadler's family had known and tolerated his domestic abuse.[13][15]

15 years after her murder, the Swiss government honored her as part of the Hommage 2021 project, which honors women significant to the history of Switzerland. They described her as, in addition to being a champion, "one of too many women victims of domestic violence and femicide in Switzerland. She embodies both female success and the worst injustices suffered by women."[5]

World cup victories

Date Location Race
16 January 1999 Austria St Anton am Arlberg Super-G
16 January 1999 Austria St. Anton am Arlberg Downhill
15 January 2000 Austria Altenmarkt im Pongau Downhill
9 March 2001 Sweden Åre Super-G
2 March 2002  Switzerland  Lenzerheide Downhill

References

  1. ^ a b "Corinne Rey-Bellet". Olympedia. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Rey-Bellet's husband is found dead". SWI swissinfo. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vassaux, Frédéric (3 May 2006). "Une vie pour le ski" [A life for skiing]. L'Illustré (in Swiss French). p. 17. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  4. ^ a b "Former Swiss skiing star killed". BBC News. 1 May 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2006.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Felley, Eric (30 April 2021). "Il y a 15 ans déjà, Corinne Rey-Bellet était assassinée" [15 years ago, Corinne Rey-Bellet was murdered]. Le Matin (in Swiss French). ISSN 1018-3736. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  6. ^ Lochner, Bob (22 February 1992). "Swiss Have Near-Empty Feeling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Monnier, Mireille (19 May 2004). "Corinne Rey-Bellet: "Porter mon bébé, c'est mon sport à moi"" [Corinne Rey-Bellet: "Carrying my baby is my sport"]. L'Illustré (in Swiss French). pp. 45–47. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  8. ^ Heflik, Roman (4 May 2006). "Mordfall Rey-Bellet: Todesschüsse in Schweizer Idylle" [Rey-Bellet murder case: Fatal shooting in Swiss countryside]. Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Schatz, Renato (26 August 2023). "Mord an Ski-Star Corinne Rey-Bellet: 2006 wurde sie von ihrem Ehemann erschossen" [Murder of ski star Corinne Rey-Bellet: In 2006 she was shot by her husband]. Südkurier (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  10. ^ a b Smith, Alex Duval (7 May 2006). "Murder stuns the dynasty of the Alps". The Observer. The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  11. ^ Fléchet, Grégory (18 May 2006). "Gerold Stadler: Le gendre idéal perdu par sa soif de perfection" [Gerold Stadler: The ideal son-in-law lost by his thirst for perfection]. L'Hebdo (in Swiss French). No. 20. pp. 43–46. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  12. ^ a b c Rappaz, Christian (3 May 2005). "Her child was the most precious thing she had in the world" [Son enfant était ce qu'elle avait de plus cher au monde]. L'Illustré (in Swiss French). pp. 10–17. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  13. ^ a b Pauchard, Yan (8 November 2006). ""Je me sentirais coupable de ne pas aider Kevin": Drame Rey-Bellet" ["I would feel guilty if I didn't help Kevin": Rey-Bellet tragedy]. L'Illustré (in Swiss French). pp. 16–19. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  14. ^ a b Rappaz, Christian (6 September 2006). ""Dans sa lettre, Gerold demandait à ses parents d'elever Kevin"" ["In his letter, Gerold asked his parents to raise Kevin"]. L'Illustré (in Swiss French). pp. 14–15. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  15. ^ a b c Pauchard, Yan (8 November 2006). "L'idéal serait une solution neutre"" ["The ideal would be a neutral solution"]. L'Illustré (in Swiss French). pp. 20–23. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Scriptorium.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Swiss skier's husband found dead". BBC News. 4 May 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  17. ^ a b c Perren, Marcel W. (29 April 2021). "15 Jahre nach der Ermordung von Ski-Star Rey-Bellet (†33): "Diese Wunde wird nie verheilen"" [15 years after the murder of ski star Rey-Bellet (†33): "This wound will never heal"]. Blick (in Swiss French). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  18. ^ Bourget, Albertine (3 May 2006). "Gerold Stadler, époux modèle devenu assassin" [Gerold Stadler, model husband turned murderer]. Le Temps (in Swiss French). ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Das Rätsel um Gerold Stadlers Leiche" [The mystery surrounding Gerold Stadler's body]. 20 Minuten (in Swiss High German). 10 May 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  20. ^ Khazaei, Faten (1 March 2024). "Intersectional Making of the 'Sri Lankan Case': The Racialization of Domestic Violence in the Swiss Police Force". The British Journal of Criminology. 64 (2): 400–416. doi:10.1093/bjc/azad031. ISSN 0007-0955.
  21. ^ "De-Quilling the Porcupine: Swiss Mull Tighter Gun Laws". Der Spiegel. 2 May 2007. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Soldiers can keep guns at home but not ammo". SWI swissinfo. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  23. ^ Llana, Sara Miller (8 March 2018). "Switzerland has lots of guns. But its gun culture takes different path from US". The Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  24. ^ Bachmann, Helena (21 February 2018). "The Swiss are heavily armed. But mass shootings are rare here". USA Today. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corinne_Rey-Bellet&oldid=1263360907"