Murder of Aramburu in Paris: witness Hegarty describes the final moments of the former rugby player
Shaun Hegarty testified on Tuesday before the Paris criminal court, affirming that Loïk Le Priol fired at Federico Aramburu "to finish it".
"He fired to finish it": Shaun Hegarty's testimony at the Aramburu trial
Four years after the events, Shaun Hegarty took the stand on Tuesday 15 September before the Paris criminal court. A friend and associate of Federico Martin Aramburu, the former Argentine rugby player murdered in 2022, he delivered, according to BFM TV, his "firm conviction": Loïk Le Priol, the main accused, opened fire "to finish it".
"I have been waiting more than four years to be here," Hegarty stated as he opened his testimony. He had hoped that the accused would acknowledge they had "done something stupid" and show "a little humanity". "I don't get the impression that will be the case," he regretted.
An intoxicated dispute as the starting point
Hegarty traces the course of a Parisian night that took a turn for the worse. It all begins on the terrace of a brasserie, where the arrogance and aggression of Loïk Le Priol towards other customers heightened tensions. As they were leaving the premises, Federico Martin Aramburu knocked the young man to the ground by pulling his hoodie — an "unfortunate gesture", according to Hegarty, prompted by his friend's exasperation at the accused's behaviour.
What followed was a "rather intense" but "brief" altercation — "ten, twelve seconds". The two rugby players then walked away, convinced that the incident was over: "as far as we were concerned it was finished, we were going to go to bed". Loïk Le Priol then headed in the same direction on foot.
The Jeep and the question of premeditation
After stopping at a hotel to tend to their bruises, a Jeep pulled up alongside them. Inside: Romain Bouvier, a co-accused, as a passenger, and Le Priol's girlfriend at the wheel, being prosecuted as an accomplice to attempted murder. Hegarty remembers a "rather masculine voice" calling out: "there they are!"
This moment is at the heart of the debate over premeditation. The accused claim that the vehicle was simply trying to find Le Priol to return home. Hegarty contradicts them unambiguously: "they were looking for us".
Romain Bouvier got out of the vehicle and exchanged a few words with Aramburu, out of earshot of his friend. He then fired four times, hitting the victim twice, before fleeing.
Dissociation, then reality
Hegarty then describes a state of "dissociation": his brain was "not ready to see what was happening". "I heard what sounded like little damp fireworks," he recounts. "For me, it was a fake weapon, I don't understand that Federico is wounded. I'm not conscious that he's been shot twice."
Aramburu, despite his injuries, perceives the danger posed by Le Priol who comes running up. The two men grapple and fall to the ground. Hegarty tries to intervene, his hands occupied with a cloth filled with ice. The defence attempted to present this cloth as a "weapon by destination". Hegarty dismisses the argument: "I would have dropped that cloth if I had wanted to hurt Mr Le Priol. That cloth prevents me from hitting him... They tell me it's a weapon by destination... That's completely off base."
Six shots, two fatal shots in the back
Le Priol opens fire and empties his magazine. Six shots in total, four hitting Aramburu, two fatal shots in the back. Hegarty sees his friend "fall onto the bins and collapse on the road". Paralysed, he still thinks the other man must "get up so we can go home".
There were no warning shots, contrary to what the defence claims, the witness insists: "he clearly shot at him, that's my most absolute firm conviction. He fired to finish it."
Hegarty approaches then. Aramburu tells him: "Shaun, call the police, I'm going to die." Hegarty takes him in his arms, sees blood in his mouth, hears him choking. Emergency services arrived quickly. "But I knew he was gone."
The accused deny any murderous intent
Loïk Le Priol, 32 years old, a former military serviceman, and Romain Bouvier, 35 years old, a former student, are both being tried for murder or attempted murder. Both far-right activists with a heavy history of violent offences, they deny any murderous intent and invoke self-defence, despite Aramburu being unarmed. Le Priol faces life imprisonment; Bouvier, prosecuted for attempted murder, is also liable to life imprisonment. The verdict is expected on 25 September.
In light of the way the accused are "trying to escape their responsibilities", Hegarty believes they remain "dangerous" and must stay "in prison for as long as possible".
Source: BFM TV