what we know about the death of an inmate with his throat cut at Baumettes prison in Marseille

An inmate was brutally attacked by a fellow inmate at the Baumettes remand center in Marseille, on the evening of Wednesday October 9. The attacker used a broken bowl to slit her throat in the cell.

A man was killed by another detainee on the evening of Wednesday October 9, the latter slit his throat and “almost decapitated”using a broken earthenware bowl as a weapon, according to Jessy Zagari, the delegate of the FO Pénitentiaire union. The tragedy took place at the Baumettes remand center, which accommodates defendants in pre-trial detention as well as prisoners sentenced to short sentences.
Circumstances of the murder, profiles of the victim and her attacker, France 3 Provence-Alpes details what we know about this fatal attack at Baumettes prison.

A fight between two inmates

According to the first elements of the investigation, a fight broke out on Wednesday a little before 8 p.m., between two prisoners sharing the same cell, in the Baumettes remand center in Marseille, according to a source close to the case contacted by Franceinfo . The attacker broke a porcelain bowl and struck the victim’s throat with a shard. The victim was “almost decapitated”, Jessy Zagari, the FO Pénitentiaire delegate, told France 3 Provence-Alpes.

The prison administration in Marseille has confirmed a “incident” at Baumettes, “with a deceased person”and indicated that an investigation had been opened. The Marseille prosecutor’s office has not yet provided details, but was expected to communicate “quickly”. Nothing indicates that this murder was committed in connection with recent events in Marseille, adds a source close to the case.

The victim incarcerated awaiting trial

The inmate who died in this attack on Wednesday evening was 22 years old. He had been incarcerated in the arriving section of Baumettes prison since September 22, according to Franceinfo. It is currently unknown how many days the two detainees had been sharing the same cell.

The young man had the status of defendant, he was placed in pre-trial detention awaiting his trial for his involvement in a drug trafficking case.

Attacker convicted of drug trafficking

The fellow prisoner who slit the victim’s throat with a shard of a broken earthenware bowl is 25 years old, a man who has already been convicted, according to Marc Berkane.

The man has been behind bars for drug trafficking since September, according to Franceinfo, which specifies that he is serving a six-month prison sentence. LThe Interregional Directorate of Prison Services PACA – Corsica indicates that the two men did not know each other.

The two detainees incarcerated in the area arriving

The attack took place in the arriving area, reserved for new detainees. It was when he took night duty that the prison officer discovered an inmate with his throat slit in his cell, specifies Marc Berkane, SPS Baumettes deputy regional secretary. According to another Baumettes union source from Franceinfo, the guard noticed that the cell’s peephole was blocked, he then asked the inmates to show themselves, but one of the two replied that his cellmate was dead, that he had killed him. This source adds that the two detainees had indicated that they did not get along, the attacker, according to this source, explained that his fellow detainee “had seizures”. The supervisor immediately raised the alarm. Despite the rapid intervention of emergency services, the victim died on the spot.

This new district receives new detainees, both accused and already sentenced, who stay there for around ten days, to temper the prison shock. The cells are individual, but they can accommodate up to four inmates according to Marc Berkane, due to recurring problems of prison overcrowding. In theAt the Marseille establishment, the occupancy rate is 185%, one of the highest in France.