Moreover, to determine the height of the sentence to be pronounced, they took into account “his active participation in the development of the criminal project” and the “determination” that he showed, but also his collaboration in the investigation, his regrets, his desire to reintegrate socially and professionally, his efforts to fight against his addictions and the fact that he has started psychological follow-up.
“Of a venal nature”
Judges and jurors also recognized mitigating circumstances for Tanguy Lecocq, namely “the absence of a criminal record” on his part and “the strong bond which unites him to his mother”.
They also took certain elements into consideration to assess the appropriate sanction, starting with the fact that he “planned an assassination” of a “venal nature”. They noted his “perseverance in the criminal project” and in particular the fact that he “did not hesitate to manipulate Ludovic Lefèbvre”, but also his “cold and calculating side both before the crime and after by removing suspicion on his person” by various stratagems aimed at ensuring that “Ludovic Lefèbvre does not question him”. They nevertheless took into account his sociability and his professional reintegration.
A reminder of the facts: “commissions that are too high” in a case of selling GSM subscriptions
Ludovic Lefèbvre, aged 38, and Tanguy Lecocq, aged 48, were both found guilty of the assassination of their colleague Hakim Menhal, committed during the night of April 10 to 11 in 2018 in Ludovic’s apartment Lefèbvre, Val des Seigneurs in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.
The two authors were associated in a company which sold GSM, internet and television subscriptions. They used the services of several independent sellers, including Hakim Menhal.
On the evening of April 10, 2018, the three colleagues met at Ludovic Lefèbvre’s house, where they watched a football match on television. Hakim Menhal was drugged and then strangled.
Ludovic Lefèbvre admitted to having placed a cable around the victim’s neck, while she was in a comatose state, and to having squeezed it. He said that Tanguy Lecocq had previously mixed sleeping pills in the drink served to Hakim Menhal.
Tanguy Lecocq denied any involvement, claiming to have left at the end of the match while Hakim was in a “normal state”. The jury found that his version was not credible, because the toxicology report concluded that given the doses of hypnotics detected in the victim’s body, she must no longer have been fully conscious around 10:30 p.m.
Adhesive tape
Ludovic Lefèbvre also said he let himself be convinced by Tanguy Lecocq that Hakim Menhal was the source of their financial problems, because they had to pay him commissions that had become too high. The jury noted that there was in fact a “financial dispute” and that “the commissions paid to Hakim Menhal severely affected Tanguy Lecocq’s profits while he was experiencing serious financial difficulties”.
The jury further established that it was Tanguy Lecocq who bought most of the items found in Ludovic Lefèbvre’s apartment, in particular the tarpaulin and the adhesive tape which were used to wrap the body. He also considered that it was Tanguy Lecocq who brought Hakim Menhal to Ludovic Lefèbvre’s house on the evening of April 10, by first inviting him to eat in a restaurant in the same neighborhood.
