The first witnesses of the femicide attempt judged this Monday, January 17 before the assizes of the Gironde are children aged 6 and 10. Absent from the trial, their testimonies nevertheless marked the first day of the hearing. The president of the court read the report of the hearing of the two young brothers in front of a police officer. It was the day after the tragedy that occurred in Lormont, near Bordeaux, in October 2018.
Dad banged mom against the wall
That evening, while the couple had been in the process of separating for several months, the father, drunk on alcohol and drugs, “break the door” from the home of his ex-spouse. The youngest child recounts having been “woken up because of the beatings” worn by their father on their mother. “Very strong kicks and punches”, describes the elder.
I held daddy
“What was your dad saying at that time?” asks the inspector. “I don’t mean, it scares me, replies the 6-year-old boy. He was going to hurt her a lot”. The eldest remembers: “He said he wanted to kill her.”
The big brother tries to defend his mother: “I held dad, I pushed him, he fell.” Their mother manages to flee outside the house but is caught and dragged by the hair. “She fell on the gravel.”
I told my little brother to tell the neighbors
The cries have already alerted the residents. “I knocked on their door asking for help,” says the 6-year-old child. The police arrive a few moments later.
“It’s scary to imagine what these children have been through“, declares Caroline Bris, one of the lawyers of the civil parties. On the opposing bench too, “it’s chilling, even for the accused, it sends shivers down his spine to hear the testimonies of his children”, recognizes the defense lawyer.
During their hearing in front of the police, the children also recounted other chilling scenes. The eldest remembers one night when his father, drunk, shows him a knife and says to him: “With this knife, I will kill mum”. The young boy refuses to answer his father when the latter asks him where his former companion works. This father who would also have confessed to his son that he had already “killed someone one day and threw the body into the Garonne”.