Magistrate in sextape blackmail trial found dead in Grenoble

Olivier Nagabbo, the advocate general in the appeal trial for the Saint-Étienne sextape blackmail case, was found dead at his home in Grenoble early Monday morning. Police are investigating the death, which occurred after he fell from the sixth floor of his residence. Investigators are currently favoring the theory of suicide.

Nagabbo, who had served as deputy prosecutor in Grenoble for eleven years before becoming an advocate general in Lyon in September 2021, had recently made his closing arguments in the high-profile case. On Friday, he had requested a five-year prison sentence, with three years suspended, for Gaël Perdriau, the former mayor of Saint-Étienne.

Judicial authorities in Lyon expressed their condolences to Nagabbo's family and colleagues. A moment of silence was observed by all judicial staff at the court. An investigation has been opened to determine the reasons behind the magistrate's apparent desperate act.