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How many times has Me Gérard Baudoux repeated and asked
"why"
?
A lot.
At least twenty times.
The lawyer for the civil party whispered it, yelled it, demanded it on behalf of the Ribal family in his argument.
Throughout this trial at the Assize Court of Nice, the “why” was discussed.
Again Thursday, for the fourth day of hearing, the lawyers addressed this central question in order to judge the premeditation – or not – of the act of the main suspect.
This October 28, 2018, at the exit of a nightclub on the Croisette, Kévin R. would have struck two fatal stab wounds at Kévin Ribal.
For no reason.
"They were sure to leave at three and come back at three, they would never have imagined this image of death and their boyfriend lying in a puddle of blood"
, summed up Me Baudoux in reference to Anthony and Dylan, who were spending an evening festive with Kevin Ribal.
The suspect, who had been intercepted a few days after the events while returning from Italy, admitted to having stabbed the victim and did it again, not without clumsiness, during the trial.
"I'm disgusted with what I've done,"
he had claimed from his first speech.
Read alsoMurder of Kévin Ribal in front of a nightclub in Cannes: the “impulsive” personality of the suspect at the heart of the trial
The CCTV images, released on Tuesday, did not provide any more answers to the
so hoped -for
“why” .
But the experienced Me Baudoux worked to detail a premeditated act.
“We are not going to clubs to fight it out!”
, he pointed out.
Two weeks before the facts, the accused Kévin R. recounted having suffered humiliation by another gang.
“
From the moment he went to KA
(the name of the nightclub, Ed)
, it was for revenge!
“, insisted the lawyer, returning to the fact that the alleged murderer was already handling a knife in the car which led him to this evening.
During the night, Kevin R. remembers having had a verbal altercation with a tall, dark-skinned man.
He could not confuse him with Kévin Ribal, described with tenderness and calm by his parents, at the helm a little earlier in the morning.
The aggravating circumstance not retained
The wish to requalify the murder as an assassination to include the aggravating circumstance of premeditation was not accepted by the general counsel, Marie-Laure Ferrier.
But the maximum sentence of 30 years of criminal imprisonment suggested goes in the direction of the total guilt of the defendant and an
"intent to kill"
.
“I salute the repressive enthusiasm.
In 99.9% of murders, the accused comes to tell us that he had no intention of doing so.
From the moment we hold a lethal weapon, we know very well what we are going to do
, ”she explained.
The two blows in the noble organs go in this direction.
The 11 cm of one of the two wounds was also an argument of Me Baudoux, miming in front of the court from where the blade had emerged … namely in the spine.
“I leave it to the vacuum maker and the story maker to say that there is the intention to kill”
, contradicted Me Christian Scolari to defend his client, already convicted of violent robberies in prison.
“We were told an impulsive act, thoughtless because he had been drinking, that he was excited and fearful because of a precedent.
He did not aim! ”,
advanced Me Éva Scolari, his daughter, who assists him in this trial.
12 years required for complicity in murder
After being stabbed, and while he was still standing in the dark and rainy night of Cannes, Kévin Ribal received a violent punch from Wasim B., who is appearing for complicity in murder.
"I'm telling you, you're screaming cowardly
," insisted Mr. Baudoux, looking him straight in the eye.
Wasim B. also attacked Kévin Ribal's friend, Anthony M., who was suing him.
"
Blood flows like a geyser and you choose the violence of the coward
," added Me Julie Domene, who defends Anthony M. and his family, who are also civil parties.
I am afraid of these men, like many people in this room!”
Against Wasim B. was requested a sentence of twelve years of imprisonment.
Regarding Abderrazek Z., the last accused, three years in prison were required for having concealed the knife after the fact.
The verdict will be delivered this Friday afternoon.