Youcef Tebbal and Mohamed Yelloule have been on trial since Tuesday before the Rhône Assize Court for killing Axelle Dorier on July 19, 2020.
They are accused of having hit the young woman at the wheel of their Golf, then of having dragged her for 807 meters.
Asked about the facts on Thursday, the two defendants assured in unison that it was an “accident”.
"You are monsters," replied the victim's father, believing that they had "voluntarily" killed Axelle.
In the microphone, a very loud breathing noise.
Leaning over the desk, Pierre Dorier gathers his courage to talk about his "choupette", his daughter Axelle, killed on July 19, 2020 in Lyon after being hit by a car and dragged 807 meters.
“She was sensitive, generous, took care of her brothers.
She was filled with kindness, ”he lists in a strangled voice.
Axelle had plans, dreams: having children, getting married.
"I could never accompany him on the steps of the town hall or the church", notes his father sadly before turning his head in the direction of the dock.
"What you did to my daughter, I can't name it, it's so horrible.
To me, you are monsters.
Both of you are equally responsible.
You lied, changed version.
I have no doubt you didn't give him a chance.
You killed her on purpose”.
“I never asked for all this”
Youcef Tebbal and his cousin Mohamed Yelloule have long been questioned about the facts, during the third day of hearing of their trial taking place before the Rhône Assize Court.
But both assure in unison that it was an “accident”.
“Youcef no longer knew where to turn, he was looking in all directions.
He was panicked.
We had to leave, that's for sure, ”supports the passenger.
Outside, the blows redoubled on the body of the Golf, he recalls.
Taken to task by Axelle's friends, the cousins are won over by fear.
“They were violent, with rage.
They were venerable, it was obvious that they wanted to do battle, ”confirms the driver.
Facing the court, Tebbal unfolds his version of the facts with the flow of a submachine gun, almost without breathing, as if panicked.
“I thought about death, I said to myself that they were going to kill us.
Everyone tapped from right to left.
I got scared, I left, ”he says, sniffling loudly, wiping his nose in his sleeve.
The young man accelerated in front of Axelle who was pointing straight ahead of him and who had put one foot on his hood to tell him to stay put.
“I never asked for all that.
Never of my life.
I have sisters, a girlfriend, I would never have hurt a woman, ”he continues sobbing.
“Panic, we end up thinking that you are overplaying it”
Axelle, he swears, he has not seen her.
“I had a vision, that of Clément who climbed on my hood and broke the windshield”.
During his presentation before the investigating judge, the young man had nevertheless admitted to having seen the young woman, whom he had knocked down under the effect of panic.
Faced with his contradictions, the person concerned does not break.
He tries to hang on to the branches: “I don't know why, I said that.
“Not enough to soften Eric Chalbos, the president of the court.
“Panic, you talk about it so much that we end up thinking that you are overplaying it,” he observes sternly.
Questioned on this point, the psychiatric experts nevertheless accredited the thesis of the accused, specifying that he still suffered from post-traumatic stress.
"Youcef Tebbal's escape seems to be part of a moment of panic, with this feeling of imminent death threat", notes Dr. Bonnefond in his report.
“He has sleep disorders, has recurring nightmares”, adds his colleague, Dr. Dessez, for whom the person concerned has difficulty integrating the facts, “even if he recognizes his responsibility”.
“He has an anxious personality.
This level of stress can easily lead him to a state of panic and perhaps nervousness and aggression,” he points out.
Dominique Versini, lawyer for the civil parties, then tried everything for the whole, feeling that the accused could “free himself from a weight”.
“It is a request that I address to you.
Please say at least one thing that is the truth, not rantings.
“I haven't seen Axelle, I haven't seen anyone,” replies Youcef Tebbal.
His death, I will suffer it all my life, as if it were a loved one, ”he dares to launch as the relatives of the victim leave the room, outraged.
"I'm not sure you can put yourself in the family's shoes," Eric Chalbos scolded him one last time, thus sending the driver back on his toes.
The verdict is expected Friday.
Justice
Death of Axelle Dorier: "If her body had come off in the first hundred meters, she could have survived"
Justice
Death of Axelle Dorier: "His life had no importance for them"
Justice
assize court
Court case
Death
Lyons
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes