On January 24, this 81-year-old woman was attacked for no particular reason by a young woman while she was walking her dog. After five months of suffering and a fierce fight to stay alive, she died on Monday.
The Figaro Nice
Sandra Salas is inconsolable. On Monday, his mother Claude died at the age of 81. “It’s the end of life that we don’t wish on anyone. She lived through five months of agony., observes the family lawyer, Maître Audrey Vazzana. The octogenarian is a thousand miles from having died his “beautiful death”. “It was horrible. She had become a vegetable, paralyzed in her bed staring at the ceiling., Sandra continues. Despite his knee prosthesis, Claude had started the year well, alternating between outings with his friends and short walks with Fiona, his Shih Tzu. “She had her little granny life like the others”explains Sandra. It was during one of her walks with her dog, on January 24, that her life changed.
Around 9 a.m. that day, the old lady was attacked gratuitously in the alleys of Arson Park, Riquier district, in Nice. The suspect, a 28-year-old young woman with a notorious reputation, insulted her profusely, before hitting her and then forcefully pushing her to the ground. Without looking back, she then continued on her way, as if nothing had happened. After getting up, not without difficulty, the octogenarian managed to return to her nearby home. His condition then gradually deteriorated, to the point that emergency services were notified by his worried daughter. Victim of head trauma and presenting a subdural hematoma, the latter was transported to Lenval hospital, in Nice, with a vital prognosis.
An expected autopsy
Unfortunately, she never recovered from her attack. Paralyzed on the left side, unable to swallow and therefore feed herself, the octogenarian lived permanently bedridden until the end, under a gastric tube and urinary bag. The last fortnight have been the most painful. For various reasons linked to the deterioration of her state of health, the unfortunate woman remained without eating or drinking, only on a drip. “The situation was only supposed to last a week but she didn’t want to die so much that she lasted two weeks”Sandra continues, her voice trembling. “She no longer spoke, we only communicated with our hands”, she explains again. Also, the announcement of the death on Monday, Sandra received it as a deliverance. “It was a great relief when she left because I said to myself that finally she was no longer suffering… But I also said to myself that with a heart like that, she would have had to live for many more years if she didn’t had not encountered the path of his executioner”she explains.
Because for Sandra, as for Me Vazzana, Claude’s death is directly linked to the attack she suffered at the end of January. “Don’t tell me she was 81 years old and died of old age. This has nothing to do with it. She was only 81 years old and without her knee problem, she was in great shape., insists the lawyer. In this sense, an autopsy must be carried out in the coming days. As for the young woman accused, she was indicted for “intentional violence against a vulnerable person followed by permanent disability” and released under judicial supervision.
I no longer expect much from justice. I am sad but also full of hatred and anger. What I know is that I no longer have a family today, I only have photos
Sandra Salas, daughter of Claude
“My mother wanted so badly to get out of there to attend the trial…Unfortunately that’s not going to happen. In the meantime, we have taken a life sentence while this 28-year-old woman continues her life as if nothing had happened.”storm Sandra. “We don’t even know when she will be judged. The delays are already long for an incarcerated person but then, with an indictment outside, I don’t dare think about it”regrets in turn Me Vazzana. “My mother was killed twice, by her “attacker” and by the justice system which let her go free”, says Sandra, bitter. Moreover, if the autopsy were to establish a link between the attack and the death, the criminal charge could be reclassified as “violence leading to death”. The penalty then incurred is twenty years in prison. “I no longer expect much from justice. I am sad but also full of hatred and anger. What I know is that I no longer have a family today, I only have photos”, concludes Sandra. Regarding Fiona, Claude’s dog, she remained prostrate for months, refusing to eat. She gradually let herself die and died a few days before her mistress.
