Credit : Prefecture of Vienne
The 34-year-old suspect was found guilty but not criminally responsible by the court.
Based on psychiatric expertise of the defendant who reported a “delusional psychosis with a mystical and megalomaniac dimension”, the prosecution highlighted the lack of discernment and requested his internment.
October 3 in Poitiers, the medieval church of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand had been the target of a fire who has heavily damaged works of art, without causing any casualties.
“Colossal and irremediable losses” for the city of Poitiers
The investigation made it possible to identify the thirty-year-old, native of Poitiers, thanks in particular to his DNA found on two matches and his daughter's phone 12 years old who bounded near the building the night of the fire.
At the helm, the defendant, already convicted in 2017 in Charters for aggravated pimping, did not admit the facts : “I am a Christian, I respect all religion, any belief. I went to China and I didn't set fire to Buddhist templess”he defended himself, denying being an arsonist.
According to firefighters, civil party, the fire mobilized 35 men and 13 vehicles, for more than 30 hours of intervention, for a cost equivalent to more than 11,000 euros.
Also a civil party, the City of Poitiers deplored “colossal and irremediable losses”without being able to provide encryption. She has requested a postponement of the hearing on civil interests, set by the court to September 15, 2025.
