The trial of David Patterson, tried for driving on the terrace of a pizzeria in August 2017, killing a teenage girl, began a few weeks ago at the Assize Court in Seine-et-Marne.
This Tuesday morning, during the interrogation, the accused justified his act by his paranoia.
It has been two weeks since the Assize Court of Seine-et-Marne has been trying to understand the motivations of David Patterson, this 36-year-old vigilante tried for the murder of a 13-year-old girl in August 2017. He had launched his car on the terrace of a restaurant.
The interrogation began on Tuesday morning.
The accused confined himself to a response, repeated each time he was put in difficulty: "I was diagnosed paranoid, I was in the dark, in distress".
He speaks in a deep but quavering voice, his hands shaking.
He is undergoing heavy psychiatric treatment which is felt in his fluctuating responses.
His lawyer even cuts him off at one point: "Be direct, go for it!"
Paranoia as justification
His client continues, his head bowed: "Yes, I ran into the pizzeria".
“Willingly?” Asks the president.
"Yes."
He admits it's a miracle if there weren't more deaths, but after saying this, he explains that he never intended to kill, that it was not premeditated. .
Always this vagueness and his paranoia to justify himself.
Each time, the room reacts: whispers, heads drooping, weary.
That of the mother of the deceased teenager, of her brother, but not that of her father.
He does not take his eyes off the one accused of killing his daughter.
The psychiatrists admitted that on the day of the events, his condition was altered.
If the jurors recognize him, his sentence could be reduced.
For now, he is being prosecuted for murder and faces life imprisonment.