Police officers killed in Magnanville: seven years later, the trial of a possible accomplice opens this Monday

Jean-Baptiste Marty / Photo credits: SYLVAIN THOMAS / AFP 08:37, September 25, 2023

The tragedy had moved the entire France. Two names remain in memory: Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and Jessica Schneider. In 2016, this police couple was murdered at their home in Magnanville by a terrorist, Larossi Abballa, in front of their 3-year-old boy. The jihadist who claimed to be Daesh had been killed by the RAID. This Monday, the trial of a possible accomplice opens before the Assize Court of Paris.

>> Find Europe 1 Matin in replay and podcast here

A childhood friend of the terrorist

Mohamed Lamine Aberouz, now 30, was a childhood friend of the slain terrorist. A man also known for his proximity to Islamist circles. He is suspected of having been in the police couple's pavilion at the time of the attack.

Investigators discovered his DNA on the wrist rest of the police commander's computer, a computer used by the terrorist to film himself, live, on Facebook, during his act. A decisive element that will be contested by the lawyer of the accused, judging that this is not enough to prove the presence of his client in the house.

>> READ ALSO - Seven years later, what happened to the child of the police couple killed in the Magnanville attack?

"They are not driven by hatred"

On the side of the families of the police couple, the challenge of this trial is to understand what happened to be able to rebuild. "They have a question: why were John the Baptist and Jessica targeted? They are not driven by hatred, by those sad passions that can often be seen in proceedings like these. There is also this concern to move on, "says Pauline Dufourq, lawyer for the family of Jean-Baptiste Salvaing.

For complicity in this attack, Mohamed Lamine Aberouz faces life imprisonment. His trial will last until 10 October.