An Italian suspected of having killed his 22-year-old French partner, found stabbed to death in April in an abandoned church in Val d’Aosta, was sentenced Friday in France to six months in prison for previous violence against her, during a trial on Friday in Grenoble, in the south-east of France.
The 21-year-old student, kept in detention, was also sentenced to ten years of ban on entry into French territory during a trial on Friday in Grenoble, in the south-east of France.
He is accused of “usual violence” and threats previously made against his partner, whose body was found by walkers in an abandoned church in the village of La Salle, in northern Italy.
“We are not judging the assassination” and the court must therefore “disregard what happened in Italy”, the president immediately reminded, particularly for the two families present in the room, recalling that the accused should subsequently be returned to Italy.
Bruises, broken nose, threats, kidnapping: before being killed, the young model from the suburbs of Lyon, had filed a complaint twice for violence against her companion in 2023 and 2024, and it was these only facts which were judged during this hearing, she stressed, recognizing that it was a “difficult situation for everyone”.
The accused, questioned at length about his relationship with his partner, declared himself “innocent”, denying being “an aggressive or dangerous person”. According to him, it was on the contrary the young woman who “manipulated him emotionally” and “hurt herself”. He also questioned his morals and his “bad company”.
His lawyer Samir Bellasri said at the end of the hearing that he did not rule out appealing the judgment. This could “delay” the extradition of his client to Italy, he stressed.
Regarding the assassination, he said he was convinced that his client would be “exonerated”, citing “serious developments” that had appeared in the case in Italy, such as the trail of people met by the couple before the murder.
