"
Neither I nor my brother intended to kill this man
"... But a man died, stabbed.
This Tuesday, on the first day of their trial before the Paris Assize Court, two brothers, bakers in Montmartre, recounted that night in May 2017 when their life "collapsed
"
.
Geoffroy and Thibault Tordeux, respectively aged 33 and 34, prosecuted for "
violence resulting in death without intention to give it
", appear free under judicial supervision.
They each face 15 years in prison.
Operation completed in three minutes
In May 2017, around 3:30 a.m., the two brothers, who worked in their bakery - Thibault the eldest is a baker and his younger brother a pastry chef - surprised a burglar trying to open their cash drawer after having forced the door of their shop with a jack.
On images, taken using the video surveillance cameras of the bakery and broadcast to the hearing, we see the burglar, Hans M., entering the shop and trying, in vain, to open the door. box with its jack then with knives taken from the bakery.
Thibault then Geoffroy arrive in turn.
The eldest, knife in hand, blindly strikes a blackout curtain behind which the burglar is hiding.
Wounded, the burglar managed to escape.
Geoffroy, who has taken the jack left by the thief, chases him down the street.
The body of the victim, aged 40, will be found on the sidewalk about 20 meters from the bakery.
Hans M. was known for acts of burglary and attempted burglary.
Witnesses quickly alerted the emergency services.
Thibault also called the police but no exchange was recorded.
"
Perhaps his call had been put on hold
," said an investigator.
“
Everything happened in a very short time,
“recalls the president Laurent Raviot.
"It's too painful"
The questioning of the two brothers on the facts is scheduled for Thursday but as of Tuesday, during their personality test, the two brothers seated side by side in front of their lawyers, My Martin Desrues and Xavier Nogueras, told how their life has changed. tipped.
"
Yes, that was me
," said the eldest sibling in a muffled voice.
“
It was good me too
,” added his brother under his breath.
On the bench of the civil parties, the sister of the victim, Sylvie M., assisted by Me Gaël Zouaoui, listens in silence.
“
Neither I nor my brother had the intention of killing this man
,” insists Geoffroy.
The two brothers seem to have a close relationship.
They work together and live together with their partner and their children in a small apartment adjoining the bakery.
This store was their dream.
They went into debt to acquire it, just a year before the facts.
Thibault, who spent ten days in pre-trial detention, continues to see a shrink because "
it's too painful
".
Since the tragedy, the two brothers have suffered two burglary attempts.
Thibault admits that he considered selling their business.
"
I would have gone
," he said in a weary voice.
“
How do you feel about the victim?
asks Me Desrues.
“
I think he is a person who has never had a chance in life, that someone should have reached out to him.
And that I didn't
,” he replies.
“
The situation is not usual
”, explains an investigator.
The two brothers, he explains, "
didn't have the right reaction but they immediately realized what they had done and didn't hide anything.
From one day to the next, everything collapsed
”.