The teenager implicated in the murder of Rose, a 5-year-old child killed in Rambervillers (Vosges) in April 2023, will be tried by the Epinal children's court ruling on a criminal basis on June 11 and 12, we learned 'AFP Friday April 19 with lawyers.
Rose was found on April 25, 2023, her naked body, hidden in a plastic bag, in an apartment in Rambervillers, a few hours after her parents reported her disappearance to the police. The teenager in question, a neighbor aged 15 at the time of the incident, admitted to having held the girl's head underwater in the bathtub, during a reenactment last June.
“Justice must calmly decide this difficult matter. We must not forget that my client is a minor. Several elements will have to be debated, in particular the dysfunctions which contributed to the occurrence of this tragedy”
, underlined Me Élise Lemelle, one of the lawyers of the young accused.
“The family fears this hearing, the criminal response of which will probably be disappointing in anticipation
,” said David Collot, one of Rose's family counsel.
The suspect already convicted of rape
Last month, the teenager implicated in Rose's murder was sentenced in Epinal in another case for rape and sexual assault on two minors to 3 years' imprisonment, one of which was suspended, with a committal warrant. The court also banned him from staying in Rambervillers and from contacting minors.
According to the regional daily
Vosges Matin
, in February 2022 the teenager asked three children, aged 9, 11 and 12, to follow him to an isolated grove. The two oldest were allegedly tied to a tree before being forced to perform oral sex. Following their complaints, the teenager was placed in a closed educational center outside the department. A year later, the maximum duration provided by law for a young person of his age, his placement had been lifted and he returned to live with his mother in Rambervillers. After the events of 2022, a psychiatric expertise revealed a mild mental deficiency and the absence of mental disorders. However, after the murder of little Rose, a new expertise this time reported an alteration of discernment and a danger to others.