why was Housni killed?

A murder and a lot of questions. Will we finally know, more than 5 years later, why Housni N., a resident of Hauts-de-Seine, was killed in an empty house in Courtenay (Loiret)? The trial of his alleged assassin, Stéphane Maraine, opens Tuesday January 21, 2025 before the Paris Assize Court. He will have to try to answer this question which has still not been answered.

A body riddled with bullets

Prosecuted for murder, Stéphane Maraine proclaims his innocence. His partner, Karine M. will be tried alongside him for criminal conspiracy and altering the scene of a crime. Both, under judicial supervision, must appear free. Stéphane Maraine served five years in pre-trial detention between 2019 and 2024.

The facts date back to June 26, 2019. In an empty house in Courtenay, investigators from the Hauts-de-Seine PJ, alerted by Housni N.’s wife, worried about not having heard from her husband for several days, discovered the body of a man riddled with 22 caliber long rifle bullets.

The body is leaning against a wall in a basement room of the house, the door of which is locked. But no key allowing it to be opened is discovered neither inside nor outside. A single impacted ammunition casing was found, placed on the left shoulder of the victim.

During the findings, investigators noticed that the floor leading to the room where the body was located had been cleaned. A strong smell of chlorine emanates from it. No traces of blood at the crime scene or anywhere else in the house.

A real estate project in the Loiret

Housni N., director of a luxury car rental agency, left his home in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine) on June 20 to make an estimate for work in a house that he was considering building. acquired in Courtenay. His interlocutor on site was to be Stéphane Maraine, a mason with whom he had met a few days earlier through a mutual friend during a lunch at Fouquet’s.

Stéphane Maraine admitted to having met Housni N. in Courtenay, but explained that he had left the scene when a third, unidentified person arrived in a dark Audi A3. On June 22, Housni N.’s wife and brother went to Courtenay looking for the missing man. They found that the house was empty, with no apparent disorder.

Suspected of being the last to have seen Housni N. alive, Stéphane Maraine is placed in police custody. Several elements are held against him.

The accused changes his version

On the day of his meeting with Housni N., he did not take his phone but asked his partner to use it by sending an SMS to make it appear that he was not in Courtenay. To investigators, he explained that it was “to cover him up” in the event of a problem.
Stéphane Maraine also claimed to have moved Housni N.’s Mercedes, at his request, to Grigny (Essonne) on June 21.

During his last hearing, Stéphane Maraine declared that in fact, he was recruited by Housni N. to transport drugs to Bayonne aboard the Mercedes and that the departure was planned from Grigny.

Registered with a shooting club, the accused has several weapons including a 22 long rifle, but his weapons, stored in a safe, disappeared following a burglary at his home at the end of June. Stéphane Maraine will also change his version, saying he got rid of the safe to scam the insurance companies. The chest will be found, but not the weapons.
At the shooting range, investigators found impacted cases fired by the same weapon as the murder weapon.

That piece of furniture?

But why would Stéphane Maraine kill him when he barely knew him? Did he act on orders?

“The judicial information which lasted more than four years contains many gaps and inconsistencies, starting with the motive, which the prosecution always fails to characterize. Mr. Maraine calmly awaits this trial which will allow him to finally demonstrate his innocence,” his lawyers, Benjamin Bohbot and Julien Zanatta, told AFP.

Me Mejda Bendami, who defends the victim’s partner and their two daughters (one of whom is still a minor), indicated that her clients “wish to know the truth about the circumstances of the death (of Housni N.) and the reasons for his assassination “.
The trial is scheduled until January 31.

With AFP

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.