On February 5, two years after the tragic fire in Erlanger Street (16th century) which left 10 dead and 96 injured, the legal fate of the alleged arsonist will come back to haunt the families of the victims.
This Friday morning, a tribute will be paid to the missing on the scene.
That fateful night of February 4 to 5, 2019, when the firefighters arrived, it was a wall of flames and smoke.
People on the ledge and at the edges of the windows are screaming.
Some jump.
To date, justice has not yet closed the case.
"It is under investigation," confirms the Paris prosecutor's office.
And a new judge was brought in.
The alleged arsonist, Essia B., who was remanded in custody, has been indicted since February 8, 2019 for "destruction by arson resulting in death and ITT".
“The expertises are still in progress, warns Sébastien Shapira, his lawyer, to determine the possible criminal liability of my client.
"
Was the building poorly secured?
Experts in psychiatry, however, concluded that there was an “alteration of discernment” but not “an abolition of discernment”.
The difference is significant and no longer excludes his criminal responsibility.
Essia B. now 43 years old, had a heavy psychiatric past.
Between 2009 and 2019, she had made thirteen hospital stays.
And had a total of about thirty hospitalizations in psychiatry.
The alleged arsonist also had a problem with alcohol and drug addiction.
On the night of the tragedy, she had a level of 0.52 mg of alcohol per liter of exhaled air.
She was also positive for cannabis, cocaine and benzodiazepines.
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If Essia B. "still disputes its responsibility", several witnesses however told investigators that she had quarreled violently with a neighbor and that they then saw her set fire to the landing of her door from which the sinister.
"However, are there other responsibilities, asks a source close to the file to explain such carnage, both in the interventions and in the speed of the spread of fire?
"In the line of sight, possible failures on the building side:" There were no fire doors.
"
VIDEO. "I saw that she was going to set fire"
Civil parties side, Antoine Vey, the lawyer of a mother "absolutely devastated" who lost her daughter, also wonders: "Can this fire which has spread so quickly be the sole responsibility? of the alleged arsonist?
"
The Erlanger file is not ready to be closed… “With my client, continues Antoine Vey, we have initiated a meticulous and meticulous work aimed at identifying a chain of responsibilities.
We already know that some components were not up to standard.
We will seize the investigating judge so that all the investigations are conducted on this aspect.
"
