On July 2, 2023, around 3 a.m., in the Cimiez district of Nice, an octogenarian had the fright of her life when she discovered two hooded individuals leaning over her while she was sleeping in her bed.
The two men are looking for the six ingots of a retired surgeon, according to a “tip” given to one of them.
Endowed with almost superhuman composure, the victim calmly explains that she lives alone. Her husband, who was not a surgeon, died two years earlier.
Bracelet removed from victim’s wrist
The criminals nevertheless searched the house and, realizing their mistake, left taking away some jewelry, including a bracelet removed from the victim’s wrist and her wedding ring. They also require their bank card and confidential code. 500 euros are withdrawn from an ATM in Les Moulins within the hour that follows. The jewelry is resold for 2000 euros.
Nine months later, the two criminals were identified, thanks to the DNA of one of them, Abdel Rahmene Ould Khattab, found on a chisel which was used to force the door. Both are being prosecuted for kidnapping, aggravated theft and extortion.
“I agreed to accompany an acquaintance for 500 euros. I didn’t know what we were going to do”assures, from the detainees’ box of the Nice criminal court this Monday, this 31-year-old father, in an irregular situation.
Presented as the instigator of the facts, Ihsen Ben Abdeljelil, a tall 31-year-old man, tattooed with a tear under his left eye, tries to justify himself: “I came out of 7 years in prison, I had nothing. They told me about gold bars. I thought I would make a new life. I was wrong, I was given bad information.”
“She reminded me of my grandmother”
The thirty-year-old from Nice, many times convicted for acts of the same nature, tries to strike a chord: “I feel sorry for the lady. She made me think of my grandmother, I didn’t want to hurt her.”
Life has indeed not spared this 90-year-old woman, after the loss of her son in 2015, who died of cancer, of her husband in 2021 then of her daughter, also suffering from cancer, just a few days after this traumatic attack on July 2.
“They say they understood that there were no ingots and yet they continued”notes prosecutor Ludovic Manteufel who asks for 4 years in prison for the sponsor and 2 years for his accomplice.
Sentences confirmed by the court, chaired by Alain Chemama. “The acts were committed without any violence,” pleaded in defense, Me Imen Guedda and Morgan Raynaud.
