The crime moved and horrified Indre-et-Loire. On Christmas night 2021, Zinedine Guerraoui died from stabbings by Praisy N., in the heart of the Niqueux-Bruère city where he grew up, in La Riche.
Behind the four fatal wounds counted at the autopsy, the shadow of a man accused of murder, who must be tried before the Indre-et-Loire Assize Court from Monday November 25, 2024. A trial scheduled to last three days, expected as much as feared by the relatives of the young man killed at the age of 22.
Facing them will be the face of him who took his life. A suspect who has continued to repeat since he was arrested after four days spent in hiding that his actions, blade in hand, were not aimed at killing that night.
Inaudible to the family of Zinedine Guerraoui. Three years after the events, at the dawn of a hearing which promises to be very well attended, his sisters, Lina and Wassila, speak out on behalf of a clan overcome by grief but united in dignity.
Three years have passed since your brother's death, where are you?
“The pain is still the same, so how does it feel?” It's difficult to answer this: we try to mourn but it's impossible. For three years, we have survived. We survive without him. »
How are you approaching the trial deadline?
“There are a lot of question marks, questions left unanswered, so obviously, we are looking forward to this meeting. But there is also a real apprehension: that of facing a criminal court, of being exposed to things that will be painful… But there will be a kind of relief, because three years have passed, which have given us kept in suspense. »
It is common to hear that the audience participates in the reconstruction of the victims. What do you expect?
“(Lina) I don’t know… (Wassila cuts off her sister) That he [Praisy N.] be sentenced to the maximum penalty provided for by law [NDLR, trente ans de réclusion criminelle sont encourus]. We know that the accused (1) will one day come out of prison and that he will have part of his life ahead of him. For our part, justice, from a moral point of view, will never be done: our little brother was taken from us and nothing can alleviate this loss. »
Your family celebrates Christmas, but this night in 2021, they weren't together…
“(Lina) I was in Paris, Wassila was with her in-laws. That evening, Zinedine had to celebrate New Year's Eve with her girlfriend. It was agreed that they would meet up at his debauchery. [Avant qu’il soit agressé à coups de couteau]he sent her “I’m coming,” but it never arrived. »
Zinedine was the youngest. Since his disappearance, you have spoken of the “cold” that reigns in the family…
“He had a central role in the siblings and the family. Zinedine was a sun, someone who brought a lot of life wherever he went, who was interested or worried about others. When the door opened, you knew it was him. Today, when the door opens, we hope to see his smile, but it is a mirage. It's horrible to say it, there is something we have lost and which will never come back. »
What are we holding on to?
“Since the disappearance of our brother, our lives have been turned upside down, the youngest of the siblings has encountered difficulties at school, we have lost our jobs because we have fallen into a kind of depression without realizing it. (Lina) How do you recover from the loss of a brother? Will we ever recover from this? »
Losing a child is tragic, how do your parents cope with this ordeal?
“Not a day goes by that they don't ask themselves, 'Why did they take our son from me?' ”They are broken down, old and tired with grief. For us children, seeing their pain is something very hard to experience. As soon as they have the opportunity, they fly to Algeria to pay their respects at Zinedine's grave, in the Oran region. This is something important for them, also because they have found comfort in religion, which helps them overcome their misfortune. »
During the white march in memory of Zinedine, a few days after his death, you called for calm and appeasement. Did you fear the conflagration?
“We never felt a desire for revenge. We come from an uneventful family, which has always been very supportive. In the hours following Zinedine's death, there were these searches launched by “young people” from La Riche to find the person who did this. This had to stop: anger solves nothing. Our mother lost a son, we didn't want to see others cry in turn. »
(1) He has been in pre-trial detention since December 2021. Although he admitted during the investigation to having carried out the stabbings, he remains, at the time of writing these lines, presumed innocent.
