No sentence required on appeal against the man accused of harassment after the suicide of his partner

History made a lot of noise at the time.

The general prosecutor's office of the Court of Appeal of Chambéry said on Wednesday, "unable to demonstrate the existence of an offense" of Johan W., a thirty-something prosecuted for harassment after the defenestration of his companion , in 2016.

"We must move from intuitive reality to judicial reality," said Advocate General Pierre Becquet.

"Legally, (the accused) is not responsible for the death" of the young woman, despite messages of her own admission "unspeakable" sent to his girlfriend the day before her suicide.

To read also Domestic violence: the time of the trial for the companion of Mélissa, harassed to death

On February 12, 2016, in Chambéry, Mélissa P. defeated herself from her husband's apartment, located on the second floor of a building in the center.

The couple had been in a relationship for five months.

But, according to witnesses, the behavior of the young woman, described as naive and easily influenced, had changed since she was dating in her thirties, and she was withdrawing.

Violent photos sent the day before

The day before the incident, Johan W. had tried to reach her on numerous occasions, leaving her violent messages and sending her photos of a cut finger and a cut wrist uploaded on the Internet. Witnesses described the defendant as jealous, possessive, and often resorting to emotional blackmail. The following morning, Mélissa had confessed to him that she had spent the evening with her ex-companion, a confession meaning for the accused the end of their relationship.

In first instance in June 2020, the Criminal Court of Chambéry had released the defendant, considering that the causal link between his words and behavior and "the deterioration of living conditions affecting the health of his girlfriend" remained uncertain.

The Chambéry prosecutor's office, which then required 18 months' imprisonment with a probationary suspension, appealed.

"We are clearly not in a case of harassment", this time admitted, this Wednesday, Pierre Becquet, without requiring the release.

"It is the threat of rupture which was decisive" in the suicide of the young woman, he maintained.

The appeals court is due to deliver its decision on October 13.