- A 51-year-old retired teacher, remanded in custody at Baumettes prison, killed himself in his cell on August 2.
- His family believes that his depressive state has not been taken into account and is considering filing a complaint.
- He was suspected of having punctured the tires of his physiotherapist eight times.
A 51-year-old man, a mathematics teacher in early retirement, committed suicide in Baumettes prison in Marseille, where he had been in pre-trial detention for a month. His death by hanging dates back to Sunday, August 2, confirmed to AFP the prison administration and the Marseille prosecutor's office. The latter has also opened an investigation "to search for the causes of death".
But the teacher's family does not want to stop there. Considering that her depressive state was not taken into account, she wishes, according to her lawyer Louise Lanata, to file a complaint for manslaughter and non-assistance to anyone in danger.
For flat tires
For the fifty-year-old, who had taken his early retirement after being declared unfit, it all started at the end of June when he was taken into police custody for “damage and possession of weapons”. The police suspect him of having punctured the tires of his physiotherapist seven times between May and June. The man is left free under judicial control. But two days later, he relapsed. Then he admits the facts during his second police custody, citing "obsessive-compulsive disorders" to explain his behavior. Hence his placement in pre-trial detention at Baumettes.
A psychiatric expertise that is slow
A request for release of the suspect was to be examined on July 28 and be based on a psychiatric expertise. But the latter "as too often, could not take place quickly," says Louise Lanata. The examination of the case was therefore postponed until the end of August and the 50-year-old was kept in pre-trial detention.
"My client could not bear to return to prison and did not understand this decision", deplores the lawyer who also claims to have alerted the court at the hearing "of the risk of suicide". The Marseille prosecutor's office indicates for its part that a "follow-up had been put in place" given the depressive state of the detainee.
Miscellaneous
Roanne: An inmate dies after setting fire to his cell
Society
Toulouse: Suspected of the murder of her companion, she hangs herself in detention
- Baumettes
- Justice
- Jail
- Marseilles
- Suicide
- Society