The property dispute
Kneubühl's case grew out of a long-running inheritance dispute over his family home in Biel/Bienne. The property was due to be publicly sold, and on September 8, 2010, officials planned an inspection before the auction. Kneubühl barricaded himself inside and refused police attempts to make contact.
Gunfire and manhunt
Over the following days, Kneubühl fired multiple shots. According to a later Federal Supreme Court summary, one officer was narrowly missed and another was seriously wounded in the head. Kneubühl escaped the immediate police cordon and remained at large until September 17, when he was captured above Biel.
What the courts established
In 2013, Bernese courts concluded that Kneubühl's conduct fulfilled the offenses of attempted intentional homicide and endangering the lives of several police officers. The courts also accepted psychiatric findings that he had been incapable of criminal responsibility at the time, so a stationary therapeutic measure was ordered instead of an ordinary prison sentence.
From treatment order to preventive detention
Kneubühl consistently rejected psychiatric treatment. After the therapeutic measure was later ended as unsuccessful, a regional court ordered ordinary preventive detention. The Bern High Court confirmed that decision in 2021, and the Federal Supreme Court rejected his appeal, finding that the lower court had adequately supported its assessment of a continuing risk of serious violence.
Sources and further reading
Case context
The Biel standoff became a national story because it combined a prolonged police operation, a serious officer injury and an unusual legal trajectory in which courts focused on psychiatric measures and public protection rather than conventional punishment.