Trial in Mont-de-Marsan: Belgian man tried for attempted murder in Hossegor after stabbing his partner's lover
A 32-year-old Belgian is appearing before the Landes Court of Assizes for inflicting four knife wounds on the owner of an oyster hut in Hossegor in August 2023.
A Belgian with disarming features before the Landes Court of Assizes for attempted murder
Since Monday 1st June, a 32-year-old Belgian has been tried in Mont-de-Marsan for attempted murder of the owner of an oyster hut in Soorts-Hossegor. According to ici.fr, the first day of hearing revealed a striking contrast: the extreme violence of the acts on one side, and a defendant described by those close to him as "honest", "loyal" and "cultured" on the other.
Four knife wounds at the end of a night of wandering
In the night of August 2023, intoxicated and having heard nothing from his partner, the defendant had decided to cycle to his workplace around 5 o'clock in the morning. She worked as a seasonal waitress in an oyster hut in Hossegor. Upon arrival, he discovered through a window his partner engaged in sexual relations with the establishment's manager.
"I was in a state of shock. I felt a real tearing sensation. I think I saw red. It's a gigantic mistake," the defendant stated from the stand. He subsequently admitted to inflicting four knife wounds on the victim: to the face, abdomen, thorax and arm. However, he denies having intended to kill the oyster farmer – and it was he who called emergency services to rescue the wounded man.
Serious injuries, with no risk to vital prognosis
Images displayed during this first day of hearing left a strong impression: traces and splatters of blood scattered throughout the hut, photographs of the manager's wounds, and notably a cut to the face whose scars remain visible today on the victim's cheek. The injuries resulted in total inability to work for ten days. However, the victim's vital prognosis had not been at risk.
Questioned from the stand, the oyster hut manager, a 37-year-old man from the Landes region, gave a poignant testimony: "I took a volley of blows. I didn't realise at first. It was a bad dream…" When the court president asked whether he feared for his life, his answer was unequivocal: "Completely. He was in a rage. He had a black look in his eyes."
Since the incident, this man has had to abandon his work as an oyster farmer and cede the hut which had belonged to his family for several generations. Too difficult to return there after this tragedy. He has reconverted to landscaping.
Joined as a civil party, he nonetheless expressed a wish to turn the page: "I want it to stop and turn the page once and for all. It's difficult for everyone, the aggressor too. I want each of us to go our separate ways."
A profile that stands out
Dressed in a white shirt, the defendant spoke calmly and clearly during this first day. Son of a speech therapist and a school headmaster, he spoke of "a happy childhood, immersed in culture, with a trouble-free school record", years of scouting, abandoned attempts at studying philosophy and then sociology at university, as well as regular cannabis consumption before the incident. For several years, he has been attempting to make a living from his painting.
His psychiatric assessment revealed no impairment of judgment or personality disorder. His criminal record is clean.
Those close to him paraded to the stand to paint a portrait that contrasted with the image of a violent man. "For me, he is someone kind, well-bred, with direct behaviour," his father testified. "He has become an honest young man who shows empathy," his mother added. "He is very important in my life today," his sister concluded. At each of these testimonies, the defendant, visibly moved, shed tears several times.
After the incident, he had been placed in provisional detention for a year, before being placed under judicial supervision in summer 2024.
The question of intent at the heart of the verdict
The second and final day of the trial was to take place on Tuesday 2nd June. The Landes Court of Assizes must settle the central question: did the defendant intend or not to kill the oyster hut manager in Hossegor? The thirty-something man faces up to 30 years of criminal imprisonment.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)