LThe parking space was empty. Charged the day before to accelerate the long-awaited departure from the Pellegrin hospital in Bordeaux, the vehicle of a young couple had disappeared. But on May 18, the young parents not only lost a replaceable means of transportation. They saw the medical, testimonial and clothing evidence of the four days of existence of their prematurely born son erased, as well as the writings of the nursing staff concerning his twin’s fight to survive.
A thirty-year-old Bulgarian was tried this Tuesday, June 18 by the Bordeaux criminal court as part of an immediate appearance procedure for the theft, during a meeting and as a repeat offense, of this car. Apart from, “it’s not me who did it”, he doesn’t “really know what to say”.
The police investigation speaks for itself. Or rather against him. Video surveillance images from the hospital show that the vehicle was stolen between 1:52 a.m. and 1:55 a.m. by several individuals who went to the scene with a purple car belonging to the accused.
“I regret,” assures the Bulgarian. “Why, if you haven’t done anything?” » asks President Marc Fritsch. Silence.
No more blue box
Implicated who admits to having himself gone to Pellegrin during this period to visit a hospitalized cousin, who admits to having one day found a set of keys lost by the father, distracted and focused on the survival of his child and who swears that he bought the computer found at his home which belongs to the couple.
The thirty-year-old explains that the day before, he celebrated in a squat. Drunk, he may have talked about the set of keys. And his vehicle may have been borrowed by others to commit the theft… “I regret,” assures the Bulgarian. “Why, if you haven’t done anything?” » asks President Marc Fritsch. Silence.
The couple recovered the vehicle this Tuesday morning, without battery or plates, the steering wheel modified. No more blue boxes containing their priceless little treasures. “Stealing a car, OK, in the parking lot of a maternity ward, it’s ugly, not to say pathetic, but escaping is worse,” scolds Me Julie Hache, the lawyer for the civil party.
Her client gave birth prematurely at five months, to two babies weighing less than 800 grams. One died, the other “fought for three months. When they were finally able to leave, there was no more car. It’s material, but they had kept lots of memories. From the first pacifiers to small bracelets to reflect the life journey of their daughter and the short existence of their boy.”
Prison closed
The prosecutor’s deputy, Charline Fine, returns to “the unpleasant context of the commission of the facts” and requires one year in prison, the revocation of three months suspended from a previous sentence and immediate incarceration.
“It’s a car theft, not a sensitive matter,” recalls Me Aurélie Filippi-Codaccioni for the defense. While pleading the absence of evidence against the defendant – the nighttime video surveillance which does not allow the thieves to be identified, no DNA found, ineffective demarcation – the lawyer assures that her client “was not aware of what what was in the vehicle and what it meant for the parents. He was sentenced to six months in prison and the revocation of his suspended sentence. He returned to prison.
