The suspect in the attack at the CHU de Reims was to be tried on Friday for another knife attack six years ago. His lawyer will ask for the adjournment of the hearing.
The 59-year-old man placed in police custody after the fatal attack at the Reims University Hospital (Marne) on Monday May 22, had already stabbed four people in 2017, learned franceinfo and France Télévisions from police sources.
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Six years ago, while he was being medically monitored in a work assistance establishment and service (ESAT) in Meix-Tiercelin (Marne), the suspect attacked four people with a knife, including nursing and supervisory staff. of the ESAT. In 20 years of work specializing in horticulture in this establishment, he had not been the subject of a specific alert, according to a source familiar with the matter at franceinfo.
According to another close source, the man had not been tried for these facts dating back to 2017, psychiatric expertise having concluded that his discernment was abolished. However, according to France Bleu Champagne-Ardenne, the investigating judge at the time had not decided to dismiss the case and therefore close the investigation.
A hearing on his criminal responsibility
In 2022, he sent the file to the Châlons-en-Champagne public prosecutor’s office, which seized the Reims investigative chamber so that other magistrates could rule on whether or not this man was criminally responsible. Chance of the calendar, the hearing must be held Friday, May 26 but, given the new circumstances, the suspect’s lawyer will request the referral to a later date.
Monday May 22, around 1:25 p.m., this man is suspected of having first assaulted a 38-year-old nurse in the changing rooms of the CHU, a police source told franceinfo. He stabbed him in the chest, abdomen and thighs. Alerted by the cries of the victim, a 56-year-old medical secretary joined her and was in turn attacked in the thighs.
Incoherent remarks
Described by the Minister of Health as having “psychiatric history“, the suspect indicated during his arrest that he was angry with the hospital environment, according to information from franceinfo from a source close to the investigation. Making incoherent remarks, he claimed to have been mistreated for several years in psychiatric circles. assured that, each time he comes across a white coat, he “will plant“because he wants”get revenge“.
The search carried out on Monday, May 22 at his home brought nothing to the investigation by the police of the departmental security. The lead of chance is privileged concerning his arrival at the CHU. The suspect is still in police custody on Tuesday May 23, in a medical environment in a specialized clinic, according to a source familiar with the matter at franceinfo.