Case dismissed in Kameugne affair: student found dead in Marne in 2008, family appeals
A case dismissal was ordered at the end of July in the investigation into the death of Stéphane Kameugne in Châlons-en-Champagne. His family immediately appealed the decision.
Sixteen years without answers: case dismissed in death of student Kameugne
An order dismissing the case was issued on 30 July in the investigation into the death of Stéphane Kameugne, a 24-year-old student found dead in December 2008 in a canal in Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne), according to BFM TV. The young man's family filed an appeal on 5 August.
The prosecutor of Reims, François Schneider, confirmed the decision, specifying that it had been made "in accordance with the public prosecutor's recommendations". "All hypotheses, criminal or otherwise, have been explored, and nothing in the investigation allows us to confirm that the victim was intentionally killed by a third party," he stated. Testimonies evoking a possible homicide proved "either erroneous or impossible to confirm," he added.
Stéphane Kameugne had disappeared during the night of 6 to 7 December 2008, following the gala of the National School of Arts and Crafts (Ensam) in Châlons-en-Champagne. His body was recovered seventeen days later from a nearby canal. Forensic medical analyses with contradictory conclusions had led to an investigation being opened for involuntary manslaughter. Several scenarios have since been debated among experts: accidental fall from a bridge, collision with a vehicle, or assault.
The family's lawyer, Didier Seban, strongly criticised the decision, calling it an "additional stab wound". "We really have the impression that in Reims, people do not want to solve this case," he denounced, highlighting the loss of evidence and the succession of nine investigating judges who had not "truly taken it in hand".
The appeal hearing is scheduled for 12 November before the Reims Court of Appeal. Seban called for not "abandoning this family to their pain and judicial silence", assuring that they would present themselves at the hearing "with determination".
In April 2025, the parents of Stéphane Kameugne had moreover summoned the State before the judicial tribunal of Paris, in the hope of reopening the investigation and obtaining answers on the circumstances of their son's death.
Source: BFM TV