A 33-year-old man was sentenced Friday in Besançon to 20 years of criminal imprisonment for having killed “randomly” a young genius watch engineer he didn’t know, in 2021, during a delirious bout of cocaine. The Doubs Assize Court found Kevin Berardi guilty of the murder of Thomas Mercier, rejecting the abolition of his discernment, but retaining his impairment at the time of the facts, in accordance with the requisitions of the prosecutor Claire Keller.
“I want to keep silent” : throughout his interrogation, the accused answered this sentence in a loop, to the dozens of questions asked by the Court and the lawyers. He remained impassive, his gaze fixed and empty, without giving any explanation for his actions. Why did he kill Thomas Mercier, whom he did not know? His reasons remain «obscures»in custody, “He spoke of hallucinations”, notes the prosecutor. From now on, “Kevin Berardi imposes his silence on us, unbearable”. But the parties agree that he acted during a delusional and mystical burst, a psychotic episode caused by the combined use of cannabis and cocaine two days before the murder.
22 scissor cuts
On November 9, 2021 around 11:30 a.m., Kevin Berardi went to a building in downtown Besançon and randomly banged on doors. Thomas Mercier, a brilliant watch engineer, recently graduated from the École des Mines de Paris and based in Besançon for a month, opens the door. The 30-year-old young man was then sprayed with tear gas, pushed inside his apartment and knocked out with an Italian coffee maker. He collapsed to the ground before being finished off with 22 scissor blows, including a fatal one which pierced his lung and heart.
The attacker went back to take a shower, change his clothes and get a haircut. Driving his car, he drove towards a police vehicle to escape. During the afternoon, he would come across several people to whom he would say: “know the Devil”, “having seen God” and to have “killed a man”, and be ready to kill others. He was finally arrested by the police at 4:50 p.m. and immediately admitted the facts.
“There was indeed madness in Mr. Berardi, before and after the facts, and I want it to be recognized”forcefully pleaded his lawyer Me Catherine Bresson, demanding in vain that the jurors uphold the abolition of his discernment. “This man is not an irresponsible raving lunatic, but rather a man who took drugs in full awareness of the effects it had on his behavior. He is responsible for it”pleaded for the civil party Me Jérôme Pichoff, castigating his “fictitious and useful amnesia”.
