“Excuse me, I surrender”: two assassinations, 83 hours on the run… Valentin Marcone tried for the Plantiers massacre

The killer's run had mobilized hundreds of gendarmes in Plantiers, a village put under lockdown. FREE MIDI – AB

On May 11, 2021, Valentin Marcone, employee of the Teissonnière sawmill in Les Plantiers, in the Cévennes of Gard, is suspected of having shot dead his boss Luc Teissonnière and a work colleague Martial Guérin. He must explain himself from this Wednesday, January 24 before the Gard assizes for a trial which could end on Monday, January 29. 

Four days of trial to try to understand the Plantiers killings. The trial of Valentin Marcone, 32, begins this Wednesday, January 24 before the Gard Assize Court and is scheduled to last until January 29.

1 What is the accused accused of ?

This young father admitted to having killed his boss Luc Teissonnière and one of his colleagues, Martial Guérin, after taking out a gun and shooting them in the head. The events took place on May 11, 2021 at the Teissonnière sawmill, in the small town of Plantiers, when he had just arrived to start his working day.

2 Why did he shoot two people ?

"These people loved by all were killed for nothing" denounces Me Rémy Nougier, the lawyer civil parties. How can we explain the bloodshed of the sawmill employee who had been coming to work in a bulletproof vest for several weeks and that day, at least, armed with a pistol ?

During the investigation Valentin Marcone claimed that he had been provoked and that he had overheard a conversation between the two victims about his supposed dismissal to come.

3 The mental health state of the accused in question

How can we end up killing two people over a labor law matter ? The state of mental health will be at the heart of the debates. Three psychiatric experts have spoken out in favor of an alteration of discernment in Valentin Marcone due in particular to paranoid traits.

Described as psychorigid and filled with a feeling of denigration, the accused had become excessively litigious since a previous labor dispute when he was an employee at the Plantiers town hall.

The hunt for the killer took place in May 2021. A.L.

Fearing reprisals from the former mayor's brother, following real or imaginary threats, he installed cameras at his home and in his car. And this long-range shooting enthusiast had a lot of weapons at home. But no one saw anything, neither his loved ones nor his wife whose hearing is eagerly awaited. 

Penal consequence: if this alteration is accepted by the court, the sentence incurred by Valentin Marcone will increase from life imprisonment to 30 years of imprisonment.

4 Return to the hunt for the armed killer

 The four days of trial will also be an opportunity to return to the journey and the hunt for the killer. Because after having shot two people and having spared another employee, Valentin Marcone returned home, changed clothes, took a gun and went on the run despite his wife's pleas.

Threats concerning other people, including a prosecutor and a former mayor, having been brought to light, an exceptional research system was put in place. That is to say nearly 350 gendarmes mobilized while the village was placed under lockdown. Untraceable without anyone knowing where he had fled, Marcone was in fact hiding in a wild boar hole 150 m from the village. After 83 hours on the run, hungry, haggard, he gave himself up: "excuse me, I surrender" he said.