At the Assises de l'Hérault (illustration) -
N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse
Accused of the murder in 2016 of her alleged violent spouse, a 42-year-old woman appears, from this Tuesday, before the assizes of Seine-Maritime, according to a lawyer.
This mother of three is accused of having shot her 36-year-old husband with a hunting rifle at their home in Montreuil-en-Caux on October 16, 2016.
The woman assures that she "never wanted to kill her companion"
“There is no homicidal intent.
Alexandra has always indicated that she had never, never wanted to kill her companion, ”declared before the start of the trial Me Nathalie Tomasini, lawyer for the accused.
The defense intends to request a reclassification of the facts.
The facts took place in a "context of domestic violence proven with a filing of a complaint and testimonies which corroborate the fact that Alexandra was the victim of violence", added Me Tomasini, who was the lawyer of Jacqueline Sauvage, condemned for having killed her husband before being pardoned at the end of 2016 by François Hollande.
According to Rose-Marie Capitaine, who defends the parents of the victim, civil parties, "there was a complaint in January 2016 which was then withdrawn by the accused" and according to her the victim is "truly demonized" by the defense .
According to Me Tomasini, the accused took a gun to protect herself from her spouse, “alcoholic” after “five coca whiskeys”, who had just got up from his sofa threatening to “kick his ass”.
"The accused loads the weapon" but assures us that it was to prevent her spouse from tearing her hands, continues the defense lawyer.
Five children present at the time of the incident
The shot went off while the accused and the victim, who both practiced hunting and ball trap, were alone in the room, according to Me Captain.
The young woman had come to warn him of the arrival of his ex-companion who wanted to talk about their children's holidays, according to Me Tomasini.
Five children then aged 14 to 17 months were in the house at the time of the shooting, according to Me Captain.
The youngest was the result of the couple's union that had formed about two years earlier.
The accused, who faces life imprisonment, and the victim each had two children from a first marriage.
The trial is scheduled to last three and a half days.
A colleague of the accused launched an Internet petition entitled "No prison for Alexandra Richard" and which Tuesday displayed more than 37,000 signatures.
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Domestic violence
Trial
Murder
Women
Justice