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🇫🇷 France /Crime & Justice

Four young men charged after fatal assault on homeless man in Alençon

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Under investigation
  • Four young men, aged 17 to 25, are implicated in the fatal assault of a homeless man in Alençon, France.
  • The victim, in his sixties, was severely beaten and died shortly after the attack.
  • Authorities have opened a judicial investigation into charges including murder and failure to assist a person in danger.

A judicial investigation has been opened into the murder of a homeless man in Alençon, France, following the arrest of four young men aged between 17 and 25. The victim, described as being in his sixties, was found grievously injured but conscious after an assault in the city center late Monday night. He died approximately twenty minutes later.

grievously injured but conscious, who died, about twenty minutes later

— Joël GarrigueThe prosecutor of Caen, describing the condition of the victim after the assault.

According to the prosecutor's office in Caen, the suspects were apprehended after police gathered testimonies and reviewed video footage. The group had reportedly been drinking with the victim before the attack. The investigation is looking into charges of murder, failure to report a crime, and failure to assist a person in danger.

several individuals who, after an initial part of the evening drinking, had been in contact with the victim, who was homeless, with whom they had continued to drink alcohol before separating

— Joël GarrigueThe prosecutor of Caen, explaining the circumstances leading up to the attack.

Details from the prosecutor indicate that two of the accused allegedly returned to the victim to retrieve a bottle of alcohol they had left with him. They found the man, who used a crutch, and one of the suspects allegedly knocked him to the ground and beat him severely, while the second individual filmed the assault. However, the lawyer for the alleged videographer has contested this, stating their client intervened to pull the main assailant away from the victim.

one of them knocked him to the ground, beat him severely and struck him with his crutch, while the second filmed the scene

— Joël GarrigueThe prosecutor of Caen, detailing the actions of two of the main suspects during the assault.

The 21-year-old suspect accused of delivering the fatal blows has been charged with murder of a vulnerable person and placed in pre-trial detention, facing a potential life sentence. The other three individuals, who were present during the assault or learned of it afterward, face charges related to failing to assist or report the crime and have been placed under judicial supervision.

The one I defend interrupted the scene of violence by moving the main accused away from the victim

— Madame Martin VettesLawyer for one of the accused, disputing the claim that her client filmed the assault.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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