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American mother and son sentenced to 16 and 12 years for attempting to murder French father

2022-05-14T13:19:46.814Z


For months, June Hopkins and her son spied on the latter's father before attempting to assassinate him twice.


A mother and her American son were sentenced Friday, May 13, in Paris, to 16 and 12 years of criminal imprisonment for having attempted to assassinate the French father of the latter, on the basis of "conspiracy" and family inheritance.

Read alsoAn American mother and son tried in Paris for incredible assassination attempts on the French father

The Assize Court also pronounced a permanent ban from French territory for June Hopkins, 60, and from the Paris region for 15 years for her son, Brendan Walsh, 30.

She recognized the alteration of the discernment of the son, described by the prosecution as "

under the control

" of his mother.

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In 2010, June Hopkins and her son have just reconnected with the father of the latter, Grégoire L., whom they had not seen for fifteen years.

June Hopkins would like her son to take his father's name.

The steps are done.

In the summer, an argument breaks out when Grégoire L. realizes that his American family had searched his papers, in particular those concerning his father's estate.

His son would then have sprinkled him with barbecue lighter, before trying to operate a lighter.

A "

fierce hatred, an absolute desire for revenge

"

The court chose to reclassify this first attempted murder as intentional violence, "

mainly for lack of material elements

", justified President Christophe Petiteau.

On the other hand, she found June Hopkins and Brendan Walsh guilty of the assassination attempts on Grégoire L. and his sister in 2015, in front of their home.

They had been attacked by "

the Americans

", who had tried to strangle them, motorcycle helmets on their heads.

"

What the investigators do not yet know

" at the time, said Advocate General Olivier Bray in his requisitions, is that June Hopkins and her "

armed arm

" of sons had been living for three years "

in a vacuum

in Paris, devoting all of their time to spying on and harassing Grégoire L., driven by a "

fierce hatred, an absolute desire for revenge

".

Read also“Under your bed there is a shovel!”

: the assizes of Paris dissect two incredible assassination attempts

In their cellar, the investigators had found camera glasses, camouflage vests, masks, a saw, a machete and an ax.

Grégoire L., "

fell into a deep depression

" and whose life had become "

hell

", and his family, had "

asked nothing

", he insists.

«

Poupée cassée

»

The two defendants have always contested the accusations, presenting themselves as victims of a "

conspiracy

" by the father and his relatives to eliminate them.

For what reason?

“, has not stopped asking the court since the start of the trial on Monday, without obtaining a coherent answer.

Read alsoTours: a former firefighter tried for the murder of a retiree using a madeleine

"

The conspiracy is a smokescreen

," sweeps the Advocate General.

We created a story to legitimize the actions

”.

It

's a “crazy story

”, they look “

amateur

” but it's not “

funny

”.

"

Obviously she believes in this conspiracy

," defends June Hopkins' lawyer, Sophie Rey-Gascon.

"

Otherwise, she would not have spent three years locked up

" in this "

irrational

" project, she continued, recalling the microphones stashed in front of Grégoire L., the theories around "

hit men

", "

traffickers of drugs

" and "

Russian mafia

".

Read alsoColmar: a father sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of his 7-year-old daughter

"

It

's nonsense ", but "

we don't have the keys to understand

", considers the lawyer, regretting that her client only knew a psychiatric expertise - which had concluded that there was no trouble.

For his part, Brendan Walsh "

does work on him

", he understands today that he "

was swept away in the paranoid delirium

" of his mother, pleads his lawyer, Julie February.

June Hopkins, always "

whimsical

" and "

radiant

" is also the woman raped by her father during her childhood, recalls her defense.

She smiles all the time

” but “

almost like a broken doll

”.

For the first time in the box, the American with the long braid of blond hair in the back cries.

"

I never intended to hurt anyone

," she said in her last words to the court.

Eyes red with tears, Brendan Walsh looked at his French family.

I had time to reflect in prison, I realized the harm I had done.

I'm sorry

".

Grégoire L.'s sister nods, his brother doesn't move.

At the court, Grégoire L., visibly damaged, had said he hoped that his son would be treated.

Would you be ready to resume a relationship with him?

asked the president.

No

”.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-05-14

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