Boxer convicted of killing husband with a baseball bat
The Brazilian was arrested in 2020 after her husband was found bludgeoned to death in their home.
Viviane Obenauf, 36, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering her 61-year-old husband in their home in Interlaken, Switzerland. Police claimed that the victim, who has only been named as ‘Thomas’ due to Swiss protection laws, was struck 19 times in the head with a baseball bat (per BoxingScene).
The killing happened in October, 2020, days before Obenauf’s 34th birthday. Obenauf plead not guilty to charges of murder.
Swiss media reported that a motivation for the killing was Obenauf’s husband’s lack of enthusiasm for her having a child via artificial insemination. Swiss media also reported that Obenauf had been involved in a physical altercation with a previous partner.
Obenauf represented Brazil, as a gymnast, at the Olympics before switching to boxing. She made her pro debut in 2014. Fighting out of Switzerland, Obenauf amassed a 9-1 record to earn a fight an up-and-coming Katie Taylor in 2016.
Taylor beat Obenauf on points before going on to become the world’s best pound-for-pound women’s boxer.
After the Taylor loss, Obenauf won the vacant WBF International lightweight title. In 2017 she unsuccessfully challenged for the vacant IBO lightweight title, losing to Chantelle Cameron via retirement in the sixth round.
Obenauf rebounded from the Cameron loss by TKOing Natasha Jonas in four rounds to win the WBA International super featherweight title. Jonas has since gone on to win WBO junior-middleweight title, WBC super-welterweight title, and IBF light middleweight title.
After beating Jonas, Obenauf went 1-2, unsuccessfully challenging for the IBF and IBO super featherweight titles. Her last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Terri Harper in 2019, after which she announced her retirement.
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