Family crime in Fabrègues: why the two schoolgirls involved should ultimately escape any criminal trial

Me Cyril Malgras welcomes this decision which rules out the role of accomplice of his young client. FREE NOON – François Barrère

FREE MIDI INFO. On March 14, 2022 near Montpellier, the two 13-year-old girls were taken from Léa's family: her father had been killed, her mother and one of her little ones sisters seriously injured. The Montpellier Court of Appeal has just handed down a new decision, which rules out, unless appealed to the Supreme Court, any prospect of a trial.

Will the terrible family crime that occurred on March 14, 2022 in Fabrègues (Hérault) not be followed by any criminal trial? This is what does the decision rendered Thursday July 4 by the investigating chamber of the Montpellier Court of Appeal suggest, which rejected the vision of the investigating judge on this extraordinary case.

The father stabbed with a fatal blow to the heart

That Sunday, two 13-year-old girls fascinated by the images of horror circulating on the internet had turned the life of a family that seemed ordinary into horror and blood. After the meal, Léa, who had invited her friend Amélie, with whom she had a romantic relationship, for the weekend, had stabbed her father with a fatal blow in the heart, and seriously injured her mother and his younger sister, aged 8.

The two girls had been indicted for "assassination and attempted assassinations", the first as main author, the second as accomplice. Both had been incarcerated, which is extremely rare for teenagers this young.

"Delusional process and hallucinatory injunctions"

In January, after a concurring opinion from three psychiatric experts, the courts concluded that Léa was not criminally responsible. At the time of the events, the doctors estimated, she was under the influence "of a delusional process", "of hallucinatory injunctions& ;quot; caused by psychosis, "very early onset schizophrenia", that no one, nor within his family, nor among his relatives had detected.

On the other hand, the investigating judge considered that Amélie should be judged as an accomplice, because she would have pushed Léa to commit the act.< em> "Go ahead, do it" she would have told him, "I'll help you make the body disappear", or "aim for the neck". A decision which Me Cyril Malgras, lawyer for Amélie, appealed, considering that since Léa was under the influence of mental illness, she was insensitive to this advice.

The judges of the court of appeal followed this legal reasoning, indicating that at the time of the crime, Léa "n&amp ;rsquo;only gave in to the injunctions of persecuting voices ordering him to kill his family". The court also notes that Léa did not strike any blows to the neck, "which demonstrates that she only responded to hallucinatory injunctions", and not to the advice of her friend. For the court, Amélie must benefit from a dismissal of the case, and will therefore not be tried before the children's court.

A decision welcomed with relief by Amélie

"The experts have clearly said that in this matter, we are not facing a madness a deux" notes Me Malgras. "It’is a decision that is legally justified, which takes nothing away from the tragedy that unfolded that day. Judicial work has made it possible to support Amélie and her family for two years. She welcomed the decision with relief." Amélie is now placed, is following her classes at high school, and remains "marked by these events where she was confronted in a state of astonishment& ;nbsp;to an unimaginable situation."

An outcome that leaves Léa's family bitter. "Just because someone has a psychiatric problem doesn't mean they can't be influenced by a third party" underlines Me Iris Christol, civil party. "This decision says that this crime is solely Léa and her mental illness. For the family, it’s brutal. We are considering an appeal." End of legal deadline: Tuesday evening.

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