Court of Review: Dany Leprince's life sentence annulled, new trial ordered
The Court of Review has annulled the conviction of Dany Leprince, tried in 1994 for a quadruple murder in Sarthe. A new trial will be organised.
Court of Review: Dany Leprince's life sentence annulled, new trial ordered
The Court of Review has taken an exceptional decision by annulling the life sentence of Dany Leprince, tried in 1994 for a quadruple murder in Sarthe. After 32 years of denying his guilt, the 59-year-old man will now be retried.
On 6 January 1994, four members of the same family — a couple and their two children — were found dead in Thorigné-sur-Dué, near Le Mans. Dany Leprince, a neighbour with no criminal record, had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sarthe assize court, despite maintaining his innocence from the outset.
The case had been marked by flaws in the investigation and contradictory testimony. Handwriting experts in particular had contested the evidential value of an anonymous note found at the crime scene. Over the years, several review commissions had examined the file without reaching a conclusion.
The decision of the Court of Review, handed down on Friday 3 July, represents a breakthrough for Dany Leprince's defence, who has always maintained that he was not the perpetrator of this massacre. The annulment of the conviction and the ordering of a new trial offer an unprecedented perspective in this emblematic judicial case.
Source: franceinfo
Source: France Info