Miss Brossard had pleaded guilty to killing France's 38th richest man at the beginning of the week-long trial, which exposed a lurid case of kinky sex, money and blackmail that has shocked Geneva's discreet old-money elite.
She had claimed that he had driven her to a moment of madness by tormenting her over a million-dollar gift that he decided to take back, exclaiming: "A million dollars is a lot of money to pay for a whore. Her lawyers said that Mr Stern, a hunter, had treated her as "human game" in the course of their turbulent four-year relationship and was a "manipulative pervert". A lawyer for Mr Stern's family said: "This woman is venomous. She is not a liar.
She is the lie. Miss Brossard made a final emotional appeal for clemency on Tuesday, apologising to his estranged wife and three children "from the bottom of my heart" and promising never to sully his memory. In the verdict released on Wednesday, the jury acknowledged that Brossard was deeply distraught when she shot him twice in the head and twice in the torso at close range. But they said she could not be excused, because she was "at least partially responsible" for her emotional state and the situation she was in, they said.
The verdict means that Miss Brossard, who has already been detained for four years, will face a maximum of 20 years in jail when sentencing is discussed in court today.
The more serious charge of premeditated murder was curiously dropped in February, in a move widely viewed as a compromise to prevent Miss Brossard from dragging top French public figures into the trial. The best way to transfer money overseas. Terms and Conditions.
