“He wrote the reasons on the walls of his cell”: he commits suicide in prison in Béziers, just before his trial for double murder

Jean-Claude Bergès devait quitter la prison de Béziers ce mercredi dans la journée pour être transféré à Montpellier. Midi Libre – PIERRE SALIBA

Il se suicide à quelques jours de son procès devant les assises. Il était accusé du meurtre de sa compagne et de la fille de cette dernière, commis à Vias, le 25 juillet 2020.

An inmate from the Béziers remand center, believed to be around 66 years old, was found lifeless on Wednesday May 29 at the Gasquinoy penitentiary center. The alert was given in the morning and the guards, once in the cell, found the prisoner inanimate, a pair of socks in his mouth and a bag on his head. Some prison guards confirm: "He was tied hand and foot and he wrote the reasons for his suicide on the walls of his cell."

Despite all attempts at resuscitation, Jean-Claude Bergès could not be resuscitated and death was declared by a doctor from the Smur of Béziers hospital who came to the scene .

He was to be tried in June before the assizes

Jean-Claude Bergès was to be tried from June 17 to 20 before the Assize Court of Hérault. He was accused of having, on July 25, 2020, killed his partner and her daughter, in the Canal du Midi, in Vias. They were both rich heiresses of a real estate developer and he had just entered into a civil partnership with their mother, Karine Tatout. Jean-Claude Bergès was indicted on charges of murder and aggravated murder.

The day before his departure for VLM

"He has changed his behavior for some time. On Tuesday, during the day, he learned that he was going to be transferred this Wednesday to VLM (Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone) because his judgment was approaching. I think he couldn't stand the idea. This is a man who has always proclaimed his innocence, another member of the penitentiary center confirmed to us.

On the evening of the events, the accused was found totally haggard at the campsite where they had stayed for a few days.

Incarcerated since May 2021

It will take a year of investigation for the gendarmes to find an element to confuse the man who has always been a suspect.

In fact, on the evening of the tragedy, the girl had called for help, a recording which will allow us to hear the young woman suddenly screaming, then nothing more. The same evening, the girl was found dead. During the night, it was the lifeless body of the mother which was returned by the Canal. Both had suspicious marks on their bodies. Jean-Claude Bergès had been in pre-trial detention since May 2021.

I subscribe to read more