Murder of a three-year-old child in Guingamp, a couple tried by the Assize Court of Côtes-d'Armor

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This is a particularly sensitive matter which is being studied by the Saint-Brieuc Assize Court this Friday, November 8.

In the summer of 2022, in Guingamp, a three-year-old boy was discovered dead in the family home.

At the time of this macabre discovery, only two other people were present in the accommodation. The mother, then aged 22, and her new companion, aged 29.

This Friday, November 8, 2024, the court session devoted to this case opens, with the verdict expected on Friday, November 15.

At the opening of the debates, the president gives a summary of the facts, as they appear at the end of the judicial investigation, and which led to the referral of the two accused to the Court.

On Sunday July 10, 2022, late in the afternoon, emergency services were called to rue du Petit Lourdes in Guingamp, behind the Roudourou stadium. A child is in cardiorespiratory arrest.

A doctor notes the death of little Eythan D., three years old, and issues a death certificate with medico-legal obstacle. The little one's mother and Gaël Scoubart, her companion, are placed in police custody.

Alone in his room all day, probably already dead

That day, no one saw the little boy until his body was discovered. The last one to see him alive was his mother's companion.

The previous evening, he went to his room around 8 p.m. to bring him food, but, according to him, the child had a fit, banging his head against the wall and throwing himself on the floor. Gaël Scoubart admits to having lost his temper, to having grabbed him by the arm and to having thrown him on his bed.

Rather surreal behavior

Around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, the latter went to the child's room, he photographed a kitten playing, then turned to the child.

The child's position intrigues him. He approaches it, tries to wake it up, in vain. His thought is that the little boy is dead. He will try to wake his partner, but does not succeed.

He then goes to the dining room and drinks rosé. Half an hour later, the mother wakes up and goes to her son's room. She also notices that the child is no longer breathing. They call for help.

In just a few minutes, all responders arrived on scene. The emergency doctor immediately noted that the little boy had indeed died and that this death had already taken place several hours ago.

The child's body covered in bruises

The findings made by this doctor are frightening. He wrote a medical certificate in which he listed the twenty bruises of different ages, discovered all over the boy's body, the torso, the four limbs, the face… No part of the body was spared.

A photographic board that is difficult to sustain

The President of the Court broadcasts the photographic plate produced by the investigators on the big screen, not without informing the audience that certain images will be difficult to watch. Some members of the little boy's family then leave the room. The images are then broadcast, the sight of the little boy's bruised body is unbearable.

An unsanitary apartment

The ground is littered with various waste and rubbish, animal excrement, numerous corpses of alcohol bottles, leftovers from meals in the kitchen.

The shower tray does not seem to have been used for a long time; pieces of glass were discovered there. They result from the breakage of the wall which dates back several months.

A shared room with a litter of kittens

Upon entering the little victim's room, toys are piled up behind the door. On the left, two mattresses placed on the floor, one for the little boy, the other for the cats. The litter is also placed on the ground, full of excrement…

More worried about their dog and kittens than the child

This first day of hearing sees some of the first responders, police, firefighters, emergency doctors parade before the Court.

On the day of the incident, the two accused were more worried about their dog and their kittens rather than impacted by the death of the little boy.

The mother even spoke to her dog: “Don’t worry, mom will come back soon.”

When she is handcuffed to be taken to the gendarmerie, she adds: “Oh great, the neighbors are going to see me like that”.

The young gendarme who was looking after the person concerned remained shocked by her words.

Alcohol and drugs

The two accused have been in a relationship since December 2021 and following the loss of his apartment, Gäel Scoubart came to live with his partner in May 2022.

Addictions are diverse and varied within the couple. He consumes alcohol every day, combined with several “shells” of cannabis per day.

A virtual life on social networks

Lisa D. does not drink, but her cannabis consumption is significant. Added to this is antidepressant treatment. Her lifestyle is completely out of step with that of a mother.

A “virtual” life at night, made up of computer games and social networks. She gets up late in the afternoon, an hour or two before her son is sent to his room to spend the night.

On the stand, she recognizes her lack of involvement in her son's education. She believes she has “delegated” this function to her partner.

The couple was placed in pre-trial detention following their custody. Although the accused remains detained to this day, the child's mother has been free since January of this year.

He, prosecuted for murder and violence against the child, risks life imprisonment, as for the mother of the child, she faces a sentence of seven years for failure to assist a person in danger and deprivation of care.

Since her release from detention, Lisa D. admits that she does not do much with her days and in response to a question, she confirms that she has not yet visited her son's grave.

The debates will continue from next Tuesday until the weekend.

SK

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