Murder of Lyhanna: suspect faces judge for first time since body discovered
Jérôme Barella, charged with homicide and sexual assault on an 11-year-old child, appears before the investigating magistrate in Agen.
Murder of Lyhanna: suspect faces judge for first time since body discovered
The main suspect in the case of the fatal disappearance of Lyhanna, an 11-year-old schoolgirl, was transferred from his prison on Wednesday 15 July to be heard by the magistrate in charge of the investigation in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne). This is the first judicial confrontation since investigators located the body of the young girl in an agricultural tank on the outskirts of Puycasquier, according to La Dépêche du Midi.
The man's previous hearing, who is in his forties, took place on 1 June, three days before the gendarmerie found the victim's body.
At the beginning of the proceedings, the charges were for "abduction and unlawful confinement". They have since been reclassified as "murder and rape of a minor". The forensic medical examination indeed confirmed that the child had suffered sexual violence. However, the experts were unable to determine with certainty what caused the death, the prosecutor's office states.
The defendant is held at the Mont-de-Marsan prison (Landes). He is subject to an isolation regime and is under constant surveillance due to the risk of self-harm. On 6 July, he had already been escorted out of the penitentiary to be present during a search of his residence in Montestruc-du-Gers (Gers).
Source: Google News LU FR