Two brothers and their mother were indicted in particular for "aggravated homicide" this Friday in Plainfaing (Vosges), after having beaten up a man, respectively their father-in-law and companion,
Le Figaro
learned this Monday, January 29 in a press release from the Epinal public prosecutor's office.
The man died from his injuries.
The two brothers, aged 27 and 30, were indicted for
“aggravated homicide”
and the mother, aged 54, for “
counts of murder preceded, accompanied or followed by acts of torture and acts of barbarity, as well as counts of willful abstention from preventing a crime and failure to assist a person in danger
.
All three are now in pre-trial detention.
The three accused were
“fierce”
on the victim because the latter had called the SPA, in order to get rid of the nine dogs which belonged to the sons and the mother, indicates Frédéric Nahon, the public prosecutor of Épinal, in his press release.
A scene of “extreme violence”
The drama took place in Plainfaing, an uneventful town located east of Épinal, as reported by the daily
Vosges Matin
.
This Friday, around 9:30 p.m., the gendarmes of the Fraize brigade (Vosges) were alerted by neighbors who reported that a violent altercation was taking place in a home.
Ten minutes later, an individual called the military to confess to the crime.
Arriving on the scene, investigators discovered the lifeless body of a 55-year-old man.
A crime scene of
“extreme violence”
, details the prosecutor, adding that the forensic doctor who arrived on site made the findings: several dozen wounds were found on the victim's body, on the back and legs.
The face is
“completely disfigured”
, further specifies the prosecution, reporting that the wounds were caused
“with force”
by prickly, sharp and blunt objects such as a knife, a pruning hook or even a baseball bat.
Individuals “saw red”
Placed in police custody,
“as soon as they were arrested”
, the two brothers admitted the facts,
“specifying that they had struck the victim multiple times, using several objects present in the living room (knife, pruning knife, baseball bat, statue...)”
, relates the press release from the prosecution.
They also confided that they had spent the day in Colmar with their mother, when they learned that their dogs had been placed at the SPA, according to them at the initiative of their father-in-law.
They then wanted to have an “explanation” with him.
In the presence of their mother, the discussion degenerated, the defendants
“saw red”
and were
“harsh”
on the victim, the prosecutor further explains.
“In view of the information collected, the mother of the two accused was also placed in police custody and admitted to having, first, struck her partner a few times, without preventing her sons from hitting them with objects afterwards”
, continues the press release from the prosecution.
It is under the authority of the investigating judge of the Epinal criminal center that the investigation will continue, in order to shed light on the unfolding of the facts and the personality of those indicted.
An autopsy of the victim is planned at the Nancy forensic institute in the coming days, the prosecutor's office said.