the essential
The death of young Thomas, 16, during a village festival in Crépol, in Drôme, caused a wave of shock. A year later, the colossal investigation to retrace the evening of the tragedy is still underway. While the perpetrator of the fatal stabbing has still not been identified, the circumstances of the high school student’s death remain unclear.
On November 19, 2023, the “winter ball” in Crépol, a village in Drôme, turned into a tragedy. Young Thomas, a 16-year-old high school student and amateur rugby player, was killed after a fight between young people that evening. A year later, the circumstances of his death remain unclear and the author of the fatal blow unknown.
During this evening, the village festival degenerates and clashes break out between young people who arrived during the evening and a group of locals. In a confusing context, the first ones take out knives and seriously injure four people, including young Thomas, who succumbs to his injuries in the ambulance.
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14 my exam
Investigators quickly made the first arrests. Others will follow in March. In total, 14 people, including three minors at the time of the events, are indicted for “intentional homicide and attempted intentional homicide by an organized gang”. Nine suspects are in pre-trial detention, five under judicial supervision.
But in one year, despite more than 350 hearings, the presence of around 450 witnesses at the evening, DNA expertise and the existence of videos extracted from the cell phones of the people present on site, the investigators have still not acquired any certainty about the author of the fatal blow. All the accused, eight of whom remain in detention, deny their responsibility, even if suspicions focus on two or three of them, according to a source close to the case.
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Gray areas difficult to clarify
According to a recent medical expert report consulted by BFMTV, it was impossible to determine whether the injuries of Thomas and the other four victims were caused by a single weapon or several weapons. It is therefore impossible to know whether there were or several perpetrators of the stabbings which caused the teenager’s death. Especially since the murder weapon(s) were never found.
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The conditions of the event, in particular the large number of witnesses and the state of intoxication of some, also complicated the task of investigators. The testimonies collected sometimes contradict each other or lack details. Furthermore, the crime scene was “particularly degraded due to the large number of people having trampled the ground”, described the gendarmes. The identification sessions (procedure during which a victim or witness must identify a suspect among several people) also yielded nothing.
The investigation still ongoing
Despite these difficulties, the investigation “is progressing and progressing well” assured Me Guillaume Fort, whose firm defends several defendants, to BFMTV. “We are getting closer to the truth,” said the man who hopes that some of the suspects can be exonerated. “There are 14 indicted but not 14 murderers,” summarizes Me Elise Rey-Jacquot who defends two men with her colleague Bilel Hakkar. She defends the scenario of a “prom fight that escalates, not an organized, planned, racist attack”. New hearings, which could prove decisive, must take place this week.
For their part, Thomas’ family, received this week by the two investigating judges with other victims, says they are ready to wait the time necessary for the investigations, according to their lawyer Me Alexandre Farelly. While the high school student’s relatives have been waiting for an outcome in the investigation for a year, they wanted to emphasize their “confidence” in justice and are arming themselves with “patience”. “They are an ordinary family, faced with something that is beyond them. And they manage to remain dignified,” confides their lawyer.
