Messages of support in front of the school where David was educated, in Saint-Herblain.
-
J. Urbach / 20Mins
On January 11, 2017, David was killed after being drowned in the bathtub of the family apartment.
This Monday, the first day of the trial, the court studied the personality of the two defendants, who reject responsibility.
What happened on January 11, 2017 in Saint-Herblain, the day little David was found drowned in the bathtub?
On the first day of the trial of the mother and stepfather of the 8-year-old boy before the Loire-Atlantique Assize Court, the circumstances of the tragedy are still very unclear.
"I made a very big mistake, that's why I'm here," replied the accused when the president of the court, Karine Laborde, asked him how he presented the situation to his two older children.
I always told them that when you do one, you have to be punished… ”
Before approaching in the coming days the terrible "punishment of the bathtub" inflicted on David, the court was interested in the personality of the mother and the stepfather of the child, Eunice K. and Guy-Roland D ., aged 29 and 35.
The Franco-Ivorian, who expresses himself calmly with a strong vocabulary, grew up in a “loving and privileged” family in Abidjan, despite a “very strict upbringing”, punctuated by “belts and cold showers”.
From a modest background, very religious, Eunice also tells about “the blows” of her father, then of her spouse, David's father, who “sequesters” her.
“I was very submissive,” she admits.
"I loved him as much as the others"
After a first relationship, which gave birth to two first children that he continues to see, Guy-Roland met Eunice via Instagram in 2014. At the time, the 25-year-old single mother had just given birth to a little boy .
His first son, David, has lived in Ivory Coast with his grandmother since he left for France for his studies.
"My mother thought I was too young to take him with me…"
Then everything goes very quickly: without resources, Eunice and her baby move into Saint-Herblain's apartment.
Guy-Roland fell in love with this child and this woman, and the couple quickly set out to reunite the family.
In the meantime, a little boy is born from their union.
"I was wonderfully well, I felt ready to get involved," says the man from the glass box, a mask hanging from his ear.
It made sense that I got to know David, who for me was also my son.
I loved him as much as the others.
"
Except that when you return to France in August 2016, the reality is quite different.
The little boy, who has not seen his mother for four years and does not know his brothers, is lost and has difficulty in school.
The contact does not pass, he cries and calls for his grandmother, whom he calls "mom".
The stepfather is often absent in Africa for a professional project.
“I felt like David didn't like me.
He enjoyed challenging me, not wanting to do the punishments, he explains.
The other children were ultra affectionate, not him… ”Tensions are felt in the couple, there are cries.
Especially since Guy-Roland admits to Eunice that he is expecting twins, the fruit of an extramarital affair.
A month before the tragedy, "overwhelmed", she thinks of leaving home.
Two opposing versions
All week, in front of the father and the aunt of the child who became civil parties, the defendants will have to tell their versions, opposite, of what happened on January 11.
During the last hearing of David's mother, the latter indicated that it was Guy-Roland who would have tied the child with a rope then who would have kept his head under cold water.
The stepfather, he argued that the idea of the punishment came from his partner, who would have placed the child in the bath before hitting him all over the body.
The two defendants are also being tried for repeated acts of torture and barbarism, such as "strikes with bare hands, using objects, humiliations, or even starvation".
"I feel guilty for not having acted, for not having known how to ask for help," the mother sobs, behind her glasses.
The verdict is expected Friday.
Nantes
Nantes: The mother and stepfather of little David, tortured and drowned in a bathtub, in front of the assizes
Nantes
Child tortured in Nantes: In front of the school of little David, “sadness” and “feeling of guilt”
Assize court
Abuse
Justice
Nantes