The request for postponement of the trial of Jonathann Daval, tried next week for the murder of his wife Alexia, was rejected, said on Monday one of his lawyers who considered the Assize Court of Vesoul (Haute-Saône) little compatible with the constraints related to Covid-19.
"We had a response from the president of the Assize Court on Thursday who told us that he was opposed to our request for referral", told AFP Me Ornella Spatafora, who defends the accused with Mes Randall Schwerdorffer and Samuel Esteve.
The request for postponement of the trial which, unless postponed at the last minute due to the health crisis, must be held next week, from November 16 to 20 before the assizes of Haute-Saône, had been sent at the end of October by the three lawyers .
They wanted a larger room in order to guarantee better distance and a wider reception of the public.
Jonathann Daval's lawyers have asked the president of the Assize Court of Haute-Saône to meet "with him this week on health measures and the modalities of the trial", also said Monday Me Spatafora.
“We have questions about wearing a mask during the debates and the presence of the family at the trial.
We don't want Jonathann's family to be unable to attend the trial, it would be catastrophic, ”she added.
Respect the maximum period of pre-trial detention
The trial, which promises to be highly publicized - around forty journalists are accredited - was initially postponed to March 2021 due to the coronavirus epidemic, before being set again for November in order not to exceed the deadline maximum pre-trial detention.
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Jonathann Daval, 36, will appear for "murder of a spouse", an offense punishable by life imprisonment.
The body of his wife Alexia, a 29-year-old bank employee, was found hidden under branches and partially burned on October 30, 2017 in Haute-Saône.
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Murder of Alexia Daval: the many faces of Jonathann
He had played for three months the grieving husband before admitting to having hit and strangled her on the night of October 27 to 28, 2017 at their home in Gray-la-Ville (Haute-Saône), during a violent marital quarrel .
After a reconstruction of the murder carried out in June, he finally admitted to having carried out the partial cremation of the body in a nearby wood.
VIDEO. Confessions of Jonathann Daval: "We wanted the truth, we got it"
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