Europe 1 with AFP 11:05 a.m., November 25, 2023

The nine suspects arrested after the death of young Thomas, injured on the sidelines of a ball in the Drôme, will be presented to the Valence prosecutor's office in the early afternoon at the end of their police custody. A final tribute will be paid to Thomas in the form of a minute's silence during rugby matches this weekend, the sport he played.

The nine suspects arrested after the death of young Thomas, who was injured on the sidelines of a ball in the Drôme region, will be presented to the Valence prosecutor's office in the early afternoon at the end of their police custody, the prosecutor's office told AFP on Saturday. "At the end of their police custody, nine people in custody will be presented to the Valencia prosecutor's office this Saturday in the early afternoon with a view to opening a criminal judicial investigation," said the prosecutor of the Republic of Valencia, Laurent de Caigny. The prosecutor's office will issue a press release on Saturday between 17:00 p.m. and 18:00 p.m.

20-year-old 'formally named as perpetrator of fatal stabbing'

The nine suspects were arrested and placed in police custody on Tuesday as part of the investigation for "murder" and "attempted murder by an organized gang" conducted by the gendarmes after the tragedy that occurred on the night of last Saturday to Sunday in front of the village hall of Crépol. Among them, a 20-year-old was "formally designated as the perpetrator of the fatal stabbing" according to the prosecutor.

Their police custody could last up to 96 hours and was supposed to "help establish or confirm the involvement and role of the individuals arrested in the Crépol events or for some, in the flight" of those who left for Toulouse, said Laurent de Caigny.

Three of them are minors over the age of 16

Three of them are minors over the age of 16, the others are between the ages of 19 and 22, some of whom are known to the courts. The most serious sentence concerns a 21-year-old born in Romans-sur-Isère: a two-year suspended prison sentence for aggravated violence.

Thomas, a 16-year-old high school student who had come to participate in the Crépol Winter Ball, breathed his last as emergency services took him to a hospital in Lyon. In addition to this death, the violence left eight people injured, including two young people aged 28 and 23 who were hospitalized in serious condition. After an emotional funeral on Friday, a final tribute will be paid to Thomas in the form of a minute's silence during rugby matches this weekend, the sport he played.