The victim, now living in the Lyon region, had designated her ex-partner, in prison in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, as the author of this message and other malicious calls. However, the court ruled that doubt remained as to attributing them to the defendant.
“I’m going to kill you this time. I know your address well. I’m going to find someone who will kill you with a knife”. Chilling, this SMS received last March by the ex-partner of a man incarcerated at the Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone remand center. For this message, but also several malicious calls, the young woman, now based in the Lyon region, filed a complaint. The investigation reveals that each time, the telephone line triggers a relay close to the Hérault prison center.
The suspect denies outright
But in police custody, the suspect denies the facts outright. According to him, his ex-partner knows other people incarcerated in the establishment, who may be the origin of these telephone contacts. Wednesday, November 6, at the criminal court hearing, the defendant remained on this line. “No, I didn’t contact her. She started her life again. Why would I call her?”declares the 31-year-old man, sentenced in 2023 for threatening to kill and violence against the same woman as the one who became a civil party in this case.
“She’s still terrified.”
The latter’s lawyer recalls the episodes of violence that her client suffered in the past, from her partner: beatings, attempted strangulation. “She is still terrified and takes the gentleman’s threats very seriously.” She is asking for €3,000 in damages for the young woman in respect of moral harm. The prosecutor, Marco Scuccimarra, requests twelve months in prison, and partial confusion of the sentence with that which the defendant is currently serving.
But for the defense lawyer, “a crucial objective element is missing to prove that (his) client is the author of the calls. Furthermore, he could not have known the address of the lady.” He asks the court to consider whether it has sufficient evidence to find the accused guilty.
Argument heard by the court, chaired by Julie Marot, who acquitted the thirty-year-old with the benefit of the doubt. He believes that if the calls were probably made from Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone prison, there remains uncertainty as to whether they could be formally attributed to the defendant.
Swiss
