Jumet: five knife blows for a twenty-euro debt and unwanted advances
A neighbourhood dispute escalated into an attempted murder in Jumet, where a young man stabbed his neighbour five times following a conflict linked to a twenty-euro debt and unwanted advances.
Jumet: five knife blows for a twenty-euro debt and unwanted advances
The evening of 11 October nearly ended in fatal tragedy on rue de la Station in Jumet, in the Charleroi conurbation. At around 22:45, the emergency services at CHU Marie Curie in Lodelinsart received Pascal, a local resident seriously injured by five stab wounds. His life prognosis was critical. His attacker was none other than Théo, a neighbour considerably younger than him. The facts were reported by DHNET.
According to initial information gathered by law enforcement, the brawl would have its origins in a minor financial dispute and inappropriate behaviour. Théo's wife owed the victim the modest sum of twenty euros. The latter had also made repeated inappropriate proposals to the young woman.
The version presented by the accused's partner differs significantly from that of other witnesses. She claims that Pascal pursued her friend with an iron bar and struck her in the face, causing her to bleed profusely. The deputy public prosecutor, Monsieur Signor, however, expressed serious reservations about this testimony. Medical-legal findings revealed only a simple periocular haematoma, far short of the descriptions provided.
Pascal's wife, questioned in turn, could only attest to the condition of her husband upon his return to the family home, covered in blood. A friend of the victim, present at the time of the incident, provided another version of events. He describes an adolescent walking a dog with hostile behaviour, who allegedly insulted Pascal before drawing a white weapon. It was then that the victim allegedly seized an iron bar, triggering the attacker's fatal charge.
Apprehended forty-eight hours after the incident, Théo was placed under electronic surveillance. During his interviews, he maintained an account consistent with that of his partner. He rejects any intention to take his neighbour's life, whilst acknowledging that he acted under the influence of anger to protect his partner. He also mentions the panic that seized him upon realising the seriousness of his actions, thereby justifying his two-day disappearance.
The prosecution representative takes a far more severe interpretation. According to him, the blows targeted vital areas such as the spinal column and the left thorax, demonstrating manifest homicidal intent. He demanded a sentence of six years' imprisonment.
Conversely, Maître Salvatore Callari, Théo's defence counsel, argued for a reclassification as assault and battery coupled with probationary suspension. The lawyer contested the credibility of the victim's friend's testimony, arguing that the swollen eye of the defendant's partner corroborated physical aggression, and that the multiplicity of wounds did not necessarily presage their depth.
Source: DHnet