On the night of Saturday February 24 to Sunday February 25, two men were attacked with fists and baseball bats in Saint-Thurial, in Ille-et-Vilaine. One of them died from his injuries. According to the first elements of the investigation, this outburst of violence could find its origin in simple horn blasts. This Wednesday, the Rennes public prosecutor’s office announced that two brothers had been indicted for “murder” and “violence with weapons and in meetings”. 20 Minutes takes stock.
What happened ?
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the two victims were traveling in a van. They had just spent the evening together when they passed near the suspects’ home, 25 kilometers south of Rennes. However, according to the public prosecutor, the man killed “had a first altercation with the accused, about two weeks earlier”. They “would have reproached him for having parked in a car park not far from their home and that since then “he was a little after them””, explains Philippe Astruc.
As he passed near the two brothers’ shed and trailer, the victim honked his horn, according to his passenger. A version that one of the defendants does not dispute, specifies the prosecution. The latter indicated during his hearing that he heard the horn, jumped into his BMW then chased the victims. After intercepting the van, the suspect struck “punches and baseball bats against the two occupants” of the vehicle, explains the prosecutor.
The driver of the van was killed during this attack. The autopsy confirmed a death of “traumatic origin” including several fractures or wounds to the face and skull due to bat blows. The second person in the van, a 38-year-old man, survived the beating. Hospitalized, he benefited from a ten-day ITT, according to the prosecutor.
Who are the victims ?
Anthony, killed during this attack, “was 30 years old (…) he was a person very involved in community life, a young father who was going to become a father again in a few weeks”, lamented the mayor of Saint-Thurial, David Moizan.
A white march is planned for Saturday morning in the city. The town is “overwhelmed (…) by this unjustifiable act”, confided the mayor. Gwenaëlle, the victim’s mother, describes him as “shy, reserved but helpful”, on the RMC microphone. “Anthony was my only son, I raised him alone. I did what I could for him. He was a nice boy,” she assured, asking that “these people pay for life”.
His friend, who survived the attack, is 38 years old. He told police that he tried to dissuade him from honking.
Who are the suspects?
The defendants are two brothers. They were arrested on Sunday afternoon by the Montfort-sur-Meu gendarmes, supported by the regional branch of the GIGN, according to France 3. They were then placed in pre-trial detention on Tuesday evening. They face a sentence of thirty years in prison, said the prosecutor. The driver of the BMW, aged 50, has already been convicted of traffic offenses in 2012 and 2016. He “exonerates” his 37-year-old brother who, according to him, was “drunk” that evening, reports the prosecutor.
According to the mother of the young man killed, the two brothers were known by “everyone” in Saint-Thurial. “We couldn’t pass by them without them jumping on the road to bombard us with nonsense,” she assures our colleagues. “During his hearing, he expressed his sorrow for the family of the deceased,” adds Philippe Astruc.
The two men were the subject of a call to the law for numerous “verbal” intimidations against people and vehicles which passed in front of their homes, according to the mayor of Saint-Thurial, cited by France 3. “ They did not accept vehicles taking this municipal road as a shortcut to get to the commune,” adds Dominique Moizan.
2024-02-28 21:59:58
#Horns #baseball #bats #murder #motorist #IlleetVilaine
