Left for dead, he testifies before the trial of his alleged attackers -
20 Minutes
In May 2015, Fabien L. was left between life and death after being assaulted.
Three defendants appear before the Assize Court, in Douai, for attempted aggravated homicide and complicity.
They risk life imprisonment
Suffering from a head trauma, the victim is now disabled.
“They destroyed our whole life.
“For Cathy L., life changed overnight in 2015. Left for dead after an assault, her husband, Fabien, is now disabled, victim of a head trauma.
The couple will find, Thursday, on the dock of the assizes of the North, in Douai, three young men accused of attempted aggravated homicide or of complicity.
Almost six years ago, on May 28, 2015, at 6 a.m., the gendarmes were alerted by a local resident awakened by the sound of a loud bang.
A car is on fire in a field between Phalempin and Camphin-en-Carembault, south of Lille.
On their arrival, the gendarmes discover the body of a totally naked man, lying next to a charred Opel Corsa.
Pounded and sprayed with gasoline
The victim was severely beaten and sprayed with gasoline to be burned.
What happened that night?
The track of a settling of accounts is quickly abandoned.
The victim, father of three children, is unknown to the police.
Between life and death for several days, she lost her memory.
However, several testimonies and the viewing of video surveillance rather quickly guide the investigators of the gendarmerie towards drug trafficking which took place not far from the victim's home, in Libercourt, in Pas-de-Calais.
A reconstruction of the facts begins to emerge.
That morning, like every morning, Fabien L. intends to go for his morning jog before going to work.
He realizes that his dog has disappeared and goes looking for him in the neighborhood with his car, in Libercourt, in Pas-de-Calais.
He comes across a group of individuals, some of whom have already been convicted of theft and drug trafficking.
A suspect left for Algeria
That night, according to witnesses, some are alcoholic.
The discussion escalates and Fabien L. is hit with a bottle on the head.
He falls.
Members of the group attack him.
Inanimate, he is transported in the trunk of his car to a field, about ten kilometers away.
His attackers go to a gas station to get gas and set his car on fire.
Fabien L. will be taken out of the cockpit at the last minute by one of the individuals.
The attackers flee.
On November 25, six months after the incident, the gendarmes proceeded to a wave of arrests.
Two young men, Mohamed B., 22 years old at the time of the facts, and Bilal B., 21 years old, are indicted and placed in pre-trial detention.
A third suspect, Mohamed A., 19, left for Algeria.
He was arrested by the Algerian authorities in May 2016 before being returned to France in March 2017, where he in turn was indicted and imprisoned.
"I am convinced that I will never know the truth"
During the hearings and the re-enactment, organized in April 2018, Bilal B. and Mohamed A. will deny the facts.
“It was a very painful moment.
When we went to the field where the car was burnt, I couldn't stay, ”says Cathy L., the victim's wife.
Why did you attack Fabien L. so violently that night?
"I am convinced that I will never know the truth," laments the latter, speaking with difficulty.
The trial is scheduled to last six days.
The three defendants face life imprisonment.
Lille
He had miraculously escaped death, a reenactment of the assault is scheduled
Justice
Four years closed after the violent assault of a young doctor from SOS Médecins
Douai
Aggression
20 minutes video
Trial
Lille