A young boy aged 15 died on the evening of Saturday April 27 in Châteauroux, after being stabbed during a fight. After his custody, the main suspect should be presented to a judge.
Matisse, a 15-year-old teenager, died this Saturday, April 27, in Châteauroux, in Indre, after a fight around 6 p.m., at the intersection of rue Ernest-Nivet and rue du Champ Carreau.
An investigation is underway into intentional homicide, and a minor, the suspected perpetrator, was arrested and placed in police custody. France 3 summarizes what we know about this affair.
A brawl with unknown origins
The attack allegedly took place shortly before 6 p.m., in Châteauroux. According to a press release from the prosecution, this is a “fight with a bladed weapon, in this case stabbings” on the public highway in the Saint-Denis district. Matisse, the 15-year-old teenager was reportedly shot several times in the chest and back.
The victim, an apprentice cook and son of a restaurateur, was accompanied by a friend at the time of the incident, according to a Source close to the case.
Despite the intervention of rescue teams, the young man died later in the evening in hospital.
An investigation was initially opened for attempted intentional homicide, before being reclassified as intentional homicide. It was entrusted to the interregional judicial police service of Orléans, jointly seized with the departmental judicial police service of the Châteauroux police station. An autopsy was ordered by the prosecution.
Another teenager taken into custody and indicted for other offenses
The suspected perpetrator, a teenager also aged 15, was arrested two hours after the incident and placed in police custody for attempted homicide. The young man has never been convicted by the courts, and has a clean record of any conviction.
His police custody was extended this Sunday evening, then lifted this Monday afternoon. He must soon be presented to an investigating judge from the criminal division, indicates the Châteauroux prosecutor, Agnès Auboin, with a view to possible indictment. A judge of freedoms and detention will be responsible for deciding on a possible placement in pre-trial detention.
Two criminal proceedings were already underway against him, one of which resulted in a judicial investigation for aggravated theft. Following his presentation before an investigating magistrate on April 22, he was indicted “for acts of a correctional nature“and placed under judicial supervision,”only safety measure planned […] for a minor of his age, without previous conviction“.
For now, “to date, the investigation has not established any link with the criminal proceedings which gave rise to the placement under judicial supervision of the minor responsible for the stabbings and the homicide of Saturday“, adds the Châteauroux prosecutor.
The suspect’s mother also arrested
According to the prosecution, “the collection of testimonies made it possible to suspect that the minor’s mother could have been involved“Investigators Suspecting”a contribution“, the 37-year-old woman was also taken into police custody, after her arrest on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. She has no criminal record.
His police custody was also extended this Sunday evening.
According to the mayor of Châteauroux, Gil Avérous, the family “numerous“the suspect is being monitored by social services.”Like many other families, and that doesn’t mean they are delinquent children.“, he added.
Like her son, the 37-year-old woman is no longer in police custody and must be presented to an investigating judge this Monday.
Testimonies from local residents
In the Saint-Denis district, the residents can’t believe it. “It’s usually very quiet“, breathes a resident, who says she heard “young people laughing then screaming, and then howling“She said she saw the victim on the ground from her window.”He said he was cold, so I threw a blanket out the window.” “We all didn’t realize what was happening.she explains. For us, he was attacked, not stabbed.“
Another neighbor explains that she is “went to help the young man while he was dying“.
I took the blanket down for him, and a friend of mine who is a nurse took care of him, but he was in critical condition.
A resident of the Saint-Denis district, witness to the facts
“It’s shocking, a kid like that, he didn’t deserve that.“According to her, the suspect’s mother”hit the young man” while he was on the ground.
Mathis, 15 years old, was stabbed at the corner of rue Ernest Nivet and rue du Champ Carreau in Châteauroux on April 29, 2024.
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© Garo Kevorkian – France Télévisions
Politician reactions
On X (formerly Twitter), several political figures quickly reacted to the tragedy. Mayor Gil Avérous (DVD) expressed his first thoughts “to the parents, family and loved ones of the victim, to whom we send our most sincere condolences and all the support of Castelroussins“. For the author of the facts, the councilor demands “an exemplary sentence“.
Originally from Châteauroux, LFI deputy Antoine Léaument, for his part, “to his family, his friends and classmates, as well as to the educational community of his school while [s]we support in this terrible moment which collapses us all“. He hopes that the author will be “judged as quickly as possible“.
“A firm sanction must be considered educational“, considers the former socialist minister Ségolène Royal. The RN deputy for Loiret Thomas Ménage sent his “thoughts for his family and loved ones in the face of this new tragedy affecting our region“.
Several right-wing and far-right political figures have used Matisse’s murder to denounce France’s migration policy. Gil Avérous, for his part, asked that there be “no recovery“. At a press conference this Monday, he explained that “Matisse’s family does not wish to bring the subject of immigration into the public arena“He also assured that the family of the main suspect is in France.”in a regular situation“. A Source close to the investigation assured AFP that he “there is no religious character” about the fight.
