these elements of the investigation which show the complexity of the case

In the case of the death of Thomas in Crépol, in Drôme, nine suspects were indicted. The tragedy happened a little over two weeks ago.

After the death of Thomas, 16, on the night of Saturday November 18 to Sunday November 19 in Crépol, in Drôme, the question of a racist crime was quickly raised, particularly at the political level by the far right. The investigators’ investigations, some of which were revealed on Monday December 4 by Le Parisien and confirmed by Franceinfo, show that things are much more complex.

Nine suspects have been indicted in this case. Among the main suspects, those suspected of having carried out the fatal stabbing of Thomas, one of them is 22 years old and is called Ilyès, a first name of North African origin. A second, aged 17, has a first name of French origin, which cannot be revealed since he is a minor, just like that of his little brother, who has also been on the run since the events.

The physical description of these three suspects given by witnesses complicates the work of the police because all of them have long hair. Ilyès’ haircut is possibly the trigger for this tragic end to the evening. The suspect recounts the mockery of a young rugby player from Crépol, who pulls on his hair when the song “Tchikita” by rapper Jul is playing, a song about a little girl. This is the start of the altercation. This rugby player was heard saying by at least one friend that he wanted to hit “bougnoules”.

Around fifteen young people arrive later in the evening

The investigation is far from over into what happened during this evening and into the motivations of each party. What we know is that at least four young people from Romans-sur-Isère participated in a good part of the village festival in the village hall without causing any difficulty, according to a good part of the participants interviewed by investigators. Other participants, on the contrary, evoke their defiant air. The rest of the troop arrived a little later: in total, around fifteen young people arrived in three to five cars, some armed with knives according to witnesses.

Nine participants told the gendarmes about “hostile to whites”. But the Valencia prosecutor repeated on the evening of Monday December 4 to franceinfo that at this stage, the elements are not sufficient to speak of a racist crime. However, he does not forbid it. However, the investigation is far from over.