On the second day of the closed-door trial, the personality of the accused, a young man of 19, was at the heart of the debates. New psychiatric experts are being heard this Thursday, November 21. Aged 17 at the time of the events, the man is accused of having murdered his childhood friend, Benaya Mangal, with several saber blows in Mana in 2022.
Laura Philippon / Sophie Donzenac
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Published on November 21, 2024 at 3:44 p.m.,
updated November 21, 2024 at 4:37 p.m.
The trial resumed at 8:30 a.m. this Thursday, November 21, at the Cayenne Juvenile Assize Court. In the accused box, a young man of 19 years old, who was 17 years old at the time of the facts. He is accused of murdering his childhood friend, Benaya Mangal, in Mana, in 2022.
If the accused admits to having killed his friend, he now denies having premeditated his action. However, he admitted it during his confession in police custody in 2022. A change of defense which marked the first day of the trial, yesterday.
For more than two hours, the Court questioned the accused to try to understand his actions. The hearing ended at 9 p.m. How can we explain that a teenager committed such barbarity against his childhood friend?
On May 22, 2022, Benaya Mangal went to this friend and neighbor's house to do bodybuilding around 3 p.m. The two teenagers finally go fishing with a boat on a lake near the homes of the accused and the victim. Far from the shore, a dispute broke out between the two young people. On the evening of May 22, Benaya Mangal went missing and his family continued to search for him for ten days.
The accused allegedly made the body, but also the victim's clothes and cell phone, disappear. He also allegedly sent messages, late in the evening of May 22, to Benaya Mangal's cell phone and that of his father to “get news”.
How would this young man have put such a plan into action? He would also have cleaned the boat to remove all traces of the tragedy.
Four expert psychiatrists and psychologists were heard this Thursday morning. Two others had already been heard yesterday by the Court. The objective is to understand the personality of the accused. Was his discernment impaired? Did he suffer from psychological disorders?
And what about mobile? Yesterday at the end of the day, a young girl was interviewed. According to investigations, she would have been at the heart of a romantic dispute between the two high school students. Love rivalry? Jealousy? Revenge ? The Court must try to understand how the friendship between these two childhood friends could have ended in an assassination. The two high school students were neighbors, their families were friends and saw each other regularly.
For Me Boris Chong-Sit, lawyer for the Mangal family, there is no doubt about premeditation in this case. He will insist on this point this Thursday during his pleading.
According to him, “there was indeed premeditation and this crime must be qualified as assassination.” This is also what Benaya Mangal's family is waiting for, who are hoping for a “judicial response adapted to the barbarity to which their son was a victim.
Since the start of the trial, Benaya's parents have worn t-shirts bearing their son's image. Surrounded by their loved ones, they will attend tomorrow, Friday, the attorney general's submissions and the defense's closing arguments. Always behind closed doors.
The verdict will be delivered this Friday during the day.
