Their trial before the Assize Court of Seine-et-Marne, in Melun, had already been heard in June 2023. But a procedural problem had justified the postponement of the case to a later date.
From this Tuesday, February 20, two cousins, whose identity is uncertain, appear before the criminal jury, for violent robbery leading to death.
The tragedy took place on April 12, 2019. It was 10:16 p.m. that evening when Philippe's train left Lyon station in Paris.
And it’s 10:55 p.m. when he gets off, at Fontainebleau-Avon station.
A few minutes later, as he arrives on the second floor of the overhead parking lot where he usually leaves his car, Philippe is attacked by two men.
Two criminals who want his cell phone and the bag containing his computer.
This 69-year-old resident of Vulaines-sur-Seine collapsed shortly after, under the violence of their blows.
And died four days later, at the Parisian hospital of La Pitié-Salpêtrière.
Video surveillance images used by investigators
During the four days that their trial will last, Youba Dahoumane and Sidali Lezzam – two 31-year-old cousins – will probably blame each other.
Because these two Algerians, known by various aliases, admit to having stolen the bag.
But they both deny having dealt the slightest blow to their victim.
Philippe was however hit in the face and suffered strangulation.
Not to mention that one of the attackers hit his head against the concrete floor.
After his attack, Philippe managed to walk a few meters, his face bleeding.
He was rescued by passers-by, who alerted the firefighters.
The emergency services decided to transport him to La Pitié-Salpêtrière because he presented neurological disorders and facial paralysis on the left side.
The police carried out a lot of work viewing video surveillance images from the two SNCF stations and the RATP, to identify the attackers of the sixty-year-old and trace their journey.
We see them, on the evening of the events, wandering around the train, passing from one compartment to another.
And it was on April 15, 2019, three days after the attack, that the duo was spotted near the Porte-de-Montreuil metro station.
Before being arrested on Boulevard Davout, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, placed in police custody and then imprisoned.
The operation of their telephone lines would confirm their presence at Fontainebleau-Avon station on the evening of the attack.
And a search of the partner of one of them would allow investigators to get their hands on the victim's belongings.
As well as cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, Rivotril (powerful anti-epileptic drug): this is the cocktail that one of the accused inflicted on himself.
And which will likely be at the heart of the debates.