On September 2, 2015, eight people, including an 8-year-old child and a 14-year-old teenager, perished in a blaze that devastated 4, rue Myrha, a building in the Parisian district of Goutte d'Or.
Six were found charred in their apartment, two defeated themselves to escape the flames.
"I saw people jump out of the window, bodies on the ground ..."
, told this Thursday at the trial an inhabitant of the building, who described, very moved,
"atrocious images"
.
Five years later, Thibaud G., the former tenant of the 2nd floor, is currently appearing before the Paris Assize Court.
To read also: Paris: the alleged arsonist of the rue Myrha in front of the assizes
The accused, with long hair tied in a ponytail, has a very particular profile, which will be clarified by expert psychiatrists next week.
He mentions
"personalities"
who
"are an integral part of him"
and "
voices which correspond to these personalities, but not voices in the pathological sense of the term"
.
Now 24 years old, he is also passionate about “My Little Pony”, a children's series of which he wears T-shirts every day to the audience.
"The user is quite focused on ponies,"
confirmed a computer expert heard this Thursday morning.
" I can not stand it anymore "
Thibaud G. to one of his internet contacts, referring to his neighbor Alassane T.
Another crucial point which emerges from the analyzes of the computer media of the accused: the very bad relations between Thibaud G. and the members of the T family, who lived one floor above him.
In June 2015, the young man qualifies in particular the latter, which he finds too noisy, of
“assholes of neighbors”
who
“force-feed”
and
“screw up the mess”
.
The day before the tragedy, he wrote:
"I can't stand them anymore"
...
Several incidents broke out in parallel between the tenant of the 1st and the father of the 2nd.
According to Alassane T., on June 29, Thibaud G. would have tried to break down his door.
"My anger took over, I went to knock strongly on his door,"
admits the accused, who stresses, however, that he does not
"remember having really degraded"
.
On the night of August 6 to 7, the young man called the police and firefighters to report a doormat fire - which he now admits having invented - and letterbox.
"I told myself that it hadn't taken"
The fire fascinates - even obsesses - Thibaud G., moreover noted the expert in data processing.
The accused notably said during an internet discussion that he would have liked to be a firefighter, but could not
"because of his leg"
- suffering from a knee problem, he uses a crutch to move around .
He has also done a series of research on various fires, as well as research on training in firefighting.
Questioned by the president, Thibaud G. describes himself as
"pyrophile but not pyromaniac"
.
He admits having set fire to a stroller with a lighter on the night of September 1 to 2.
“When I came back to bed, I didn't really see any flames, maybe barely a flame.
I told myself that it had not taken. "
He assures that it was a way for him to
"call for help"
because he was
"in distress"
, but also recognizes a
"urge to destroy something".
"The goal was absolutely not to harm my neighbors"
Thibaud G. during the hearing
The accused stated that he had intended to set the stroller on fire, but
"the whole building certainly not"
.
"The goal was absolutely not to harm my neighbors"
, he pleads, while several of them are present in the room.
At 4:39 am, Thibaud G. is the first to call the fire brigade.
He then descends from his apartment with the help of a gutter, and is taken care of by the emergency services.
In the months that follow, he invests a lot with his neighbors.
Heard several times by investigators, he did not react when an Algerian homeless man was arrested, indicted and placed in pre-trial detention.
"I was not really aware of the facts, I had repressed everything"
, he tries to explain.
“I mainly feared the looks of people, but also disgust with myself, and inevitably, detention.
"And to conclude:
" I am absolutely sorry for what happened "
.
