Man lynched to death in Charleville-Mézières: couple charged with murder and torture
A 47-year-old man was tortured and killed during a drinking party in Charleville-Mézières on 27 August. A couple of suspects, whose violence was filmed and circulated on Snapchat, was charged on Tuesday.
Fatal torture in Charleville-Mézières: couple referred to justice
A 47-year-old man died as a result of extreme violence inflicted during an evening in a flat in Charleville-Mézières, in the Ardennes. According to TF1 Info, it was a video circulated on Snapchat that alerted the authorities: on Thursday 27 August, in the early afternoon, a woman horrified by the images she saw on the social network contacted the police, claiming to have recognised the voice of the alleged attacker.
Investigators quickly went to the victim's home, where they discovered his body without life, mutilated in several places. An investigation was opened immediately, accompanied by an autopsy carried out in the hours that followed.
Injuries of extreme severity
The autopsy, carried out on 29 August, revealed the extent of the abuse. "The autopsy performed on this man revealed very severe traumatisms, to the face, at the cervical level having obstructed his airways, but also thoracic with fractures of the ribs. He had also suffered very serious sexual violence, and his genitals had been mutilated. He was clearly not dead immediately, and the video found showed him indeed dying whilst his attacker gave him violent kicks to the face," detailed the State Prosecutor of Reims, François Schneider, in a statement made public on Tuesday.
A suspect quickly identified
The main suspect, a 37-year-old man with a heavy criminal record — 36 convictions, principally for violence, but also for theft and road offences — was identified thanks to two ex-partners and his sister, who all recognised his voice on the recordings.
An ex-girlfriend also told investigators that he had presented himself at her home on the morning of 27 August, around 8:30 a.m., in a state of intoxication, with blood stains on his clothes. He had then mentioned a fight to explain these traces. The woman stated she had thrown him out around 4 p.m., after viewing the video of the assault, and immediately contacted the authorities.
On the same day, the suspect was reported to the Prison Integration and Probation Service of Charleville-Mézières. A witness then told the forces of order that a young woman of 17 years, homeless and close to the suspect, had witnessed the events and was wearing blood-stained clothes. Located and placed in police custody, this minor confirmed her presence during the evening.
An evening that "went wrong"
According to the statements of the young witness, as reported by prosecutor Schneider, the accused, his partner aged 27 years and she herself had joined the victim to spend the evening. Alcohol, cocaine and "C" — a mixture of cocaine and ammonia — were consumed in large quantities. "According to her, the victim had proposed to the accused's partner to have sexual relations with her in exchange for drugs. The evening went wrong, and according to her words the accused had 'flipped', attacking the victim whom he accused of rape," the magistrate related.
What followed was an outburst of violence: the victim was struck "with kicks, a fan, furniture whilst filming the scene". The young witness, who indicates she did not witness the mutilation acts, also mentioned sexual violence committed on the victim by the couple. She was ruled out at the conclusion of the investigation.
The partner partially admits the facts
Apprehended and placed in police custody, the 27-year-old woman — already sentenced for aggravated violence — partially admitted to participation in the facts, whilst invoking "lapses of memory". She attempted to incriminate the minor, but SMS messages exchanged with the suspect led investigators to doubt her version. She confirmed the facts of sexual assault without admitting to striking blows.
The main suspect was for his part apprehended on Saturday 29 August at 23:40 in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelonne, in the Hérault, after another of his partners contacted the police. In police custody, he admitted the violence and acknowledged being the man visible in the videos circulated via Snapchat, "mentioning rapes committed by the victim in exchange for drugs, against a backdrop of massive alcohol consumption and no less massive consumption of narcotics".
Committal for trial and detention order
The couple was referred on Tuesday 1 September before an investigating judge of the criminal division of Reims. In accordance with the Crown Prosecution's submissions, they were charged with "murder with the circumstance that the facts were accompanied or followed by another crime, namely acts of torture and barbarism". A criminal detention order was pronounced against them. For the facts they are accused of, they face life imprisonment.
Source: TF1 Info