David, 8, was tortured and drowned in a bathtub in Saint-Herblain, near Nantes -

J. Urbach / 20 Minutes

  • David, 8, was tortured before being killed in the bathtub of the family apartment.

  • The mother and stepfather of the little boy, accused of the murder, appear from Monday before the Loire-Atlantique Assize Court.

At the School of the Rising Sun, a tree had been planted in the courtyard, in memory of a "lovely child".

On January 11, 2017, a tragedy aroused great emotion in the Crémetterie district in Saint-Herblain and throughout the Nantes conurbation.

David, 8, was killed after being drowned in the bathtub in the family apartment.

This CE1 student, who had numerous bruises on his body, had been plunged into cold water with his feet and hands tied.

The alleged perpetrators of this murder, the mother and stepfather of the little victim, will be tried from Monday by the Loire-Atlantique Assize Court.

Locked up since the tragedy, this man and this woman aged 34 and 29 had first put forward the scenario of the domestic accident before confessing to the "punishment" inflicted on David, the latest in a long list of acts of abuse.

The little boy, who had grown up in Ivory Coast before joining the couple in Saint-Herblain a few months before his death, was subject to "severe abuse, beatings and on certain occasions was hindered by ties" , had revealed the investigation.

Tried for acts of torture and barbarism practiced in the usual way and followed by the death of the child, they risk life imprisonment.

"The neighbors did not alert"

During the five days of debate, the court will try to understand what could have led the couple to make the little David a painkiller, and to determine the role of one and the other on the day of the tragedy, while the accused reject the responsibility.

“This trial, which comes after a very long wait, is very distressing for our client, who was unable to protect her child.

But it is important because it will finally make it possible to understand what happened in this closed session, ”say the lawyers of David's mother, Me Olivier Parrot and Me Jean-Edouard Robiou du Pont.

For the association l'Enfant Bleu, which became a civil party, this lawsuit will also highlight “dysfunctions without which we could perhaps have avoided the death of a child”.

"It appears that some neighbors had a suspicion of mistreatment but they did not dare to report it," explains Michel Martzloff, secretary general of the association.

He also questions the role of the school: it seems that the teacher reported to the mother of the child having heard the little one say that he was hungry.

This is what would have triggered this terrible drama.

According to the association, "it is up to the social services or the prosecutor, and not the school, to have to manage this type of situation.

They are better able to decide: to warn the parents or to remove the child.

"

The trial, which was due to open in June, had been postponed due to sanitary conditions and at the request of the defense.

Almost four years after the facts, it will take place "in degraded conditions", believe the lawyers of the accused.

A certain number of witnesses, who were unable to make the trip from Côte d'Ivoire, will be questioned by videoconference.

The verdict is expected Friday.

Nantes

Child tortured in Nantes: In front of the school of little David, “sadness” and “feeling of guilt”

Nantes

Nantes: An 8-year-old child tortured and drowned in a bathtub

  • Child

  • Assize court

  • Torture

  • Nantes

  • Trial