Three people were indicted and imprisoned, suspected of being behind the explosion of a house in Tergnier (Aisne) on the night of December 28 to 29, in which an alleged accomplice was seriously injured, announced the Laon prosecutor on Friday.
The three people indicted are a man who was there the night of the explosion and the couple who owned the house, who admitted “ be at the initiative of the project of deterioration by fire of their home », Explained prosecutor Guillaume Donnadieu.
A seriously injured man
Another man, who was also in the house, was seriously injured by the explosion but his life is no longer in danger. Like the other individual present on the scene, he declared that he had entered the house to set it on fire. He was not indicted at this stage due to his state of health, according to the prosecutor.
The two men indicated “having acted at the request of the couple who owned the premises” and explained that“when lighting the lighter to start the fire, an explosion occurred”he specifies. The first, who managed to escape before being arrested, was indicted in particular for “destruction by dangerous means resulting in total incapacity for work for more than eight days”.
We have blocked the display of this content to respect your cookie choices. By clicking on “Accept”, you accept the deposit of cookies. You can change your choices at any time by going to this page.
Accept
The couple indicted
He was given three days of total incapacity for work, his alleged accomplice who had to be hospitalized, much more seriously affected, for a month. The couple occupying and owning the house were indicted for complicity in destruction by dangerous means and for attempted fraud against the home insurer. As revealed 20 minutesthe couple had prepared an alibi and were traveling to Paris at the time of the events.
A neighborhood conflict at the origin of the affair
According to our colleagues, this whole affair has its origins in a neighborhood conflict. In July 2023, Angelina, a woman from the Traveler community, sets up her caravan on the land behind the owners' house. For several months the couple supplied the woman with electricity but found themselves forced to cut off the power.
Threats and an escalating conflict then follow. Angelina will damage the couple's house, first alone then with the help of members of her family. His stepson will end up incarcerated. The mayor of the town attempted mediation in the summer of 2024. “ I feared it would end badly, and it ended badly », he laments today to 20 Minutes.
Exasperated by the situation, the couple finally decided to leave the house at the end of September. Before a new escalation of the conflict in November, when Angelina's husband leaves prison and is placed under house arrest under electronic bracelet. “The day he was released, he threatened to kill us all and the police did nothing”confided the couple's neighbor to our colleagues. The final step before the couple enacts their plan to destroy their own home.
