An inmate at the Nantes prison was indicted on Friday for murder and alteration of a crime scene after the death of his fellow prisoner in early December, the prosecutor's office said. On Friday morning, the 26-year-old admitted in police custody "to having inflicted numerous blows with his bare hands on the victim, without acknowledging homicidal intent," explained the public prosecutor of Nantes, Renaud Gaudeul.
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The autopsy carried out on December 8 showed that the death was the result of thoracic and abdominal polytrauma, including in particular about thirty rib fractures," he explained. He was charged with murder and altering a crime scene to obstruct the truth and remanded in custody.
The suspect, who is under curatorship and has been detained since 2020 "both as part of an ongoing investigation on the charge of aggravated rape and in order to serve several prison sentences", did not explain the reasons for his act, according to the same source. He has 14 mentions on his criminal record "for various offences and in particular acts of violence and threats".
The victim is a 54-year-old man who was "in pre-trial detention as part of a judicial investigation on the charge of aggravated rape," the prosecutor said.
On 6 December, the suspect alerted the guards of the Nantes prison, explaining that he had discovered his fellow prisoner unresponsive on his bed. He was first taken into custody three days after the body was discovered.