“I have no news from him,” confirmed his lawyer, Me Anne-Catherine Le Her. Unreachable for several days, the prosecution has taken steps to try to contact him. Without success. “We asked the Scaër gendarmes to go to his medical office and his home to check his presence and remind him to be present at the opening of the trial,” explained the attorney general, Me Marie-Noëlle Collobert. His office has been closed for eight days and his mailbox is full of letters, some of which date from before September 10. »
“As much a doctor as he is, Antoine Devulder is not above the law”
Faced with the absence of the accused, the jurors, who were to sit throughout the trial, were released from their duties. The civil party’s lawyer, Mr. Berthelot, and the attorney general, both requested that the trial be continued, under the criminal default procedure. “Antoine Devulder, although a doctor, is not above the law,” recalled the attorney general. The accused’s lawyer, for her part, explained that in this context, she would not defend her client: “I will not defend him,” Me Le Her simply declared. I will not betray my oath as a lawyer, because I have sworn to work with integrity. »
For the victim, Anne (*,) the absence of the accused is not a surprise: “He always thought he was above the law. He’s a coward, she laments. I wish he would finally confess, and be sorry… I need to rebuild myself. » His lawyer, Me Marc Berthelot, also expected it: “We were shocked by the discomfort he had shown during the first hearing. He was always elusive, never admitted… That he’s not here today doesn’t surprise me. »
