Charles Guyard
After the murder of a 47-year-old woman in Nantes this Sunday, the question of the legal procedure arises. Indeed, the arrest took place after an investigation carried out by the relatives of the victim, who found the perpetrator by analyzing the images of a video surveillance camera. An approach that poses a problem for the police.
A 21-year-old man was charged on Wednesday after admitting to the murder of a 47-year-old woman. The victim was stabbed in the middle of the street on Sunday morning.
An unprecedented case: the arrest of the alleged perpetrator took place after an investigation not conducted by the police, but by relatives of the victim, which could ultimately pose a real procedural problem.
The images of a white Peugeot 308, which is missing the front left hubcap, were captured by the surveillance camera of a company located near the scene of the crime. They made it possible to trace the alleged murderer.
“Investigations are hampered”
Problem: it was not the police who first viewed the images, but relatives of the victim. The latter managed to identify the individual in question to whom they went before calling the police. A method which greatly irritated the public prosecutor of Nantes.
“We can perfectly understand the emotion that was that of his family and the young people of this district”, declared Renaud Gaudeul. “But this is where the investigations are hampered. In these circumstances, we have evidence that we could undoubtedly have collected if this investigation had been able to take place in good conditions. Fortunately, we have already been able to and already gather sufficient evidence to justify this indictment.
Before an Assize Court, the future defense will undoubtedly have arguments to put forward on the impact of this parallel investigation carried out outside any legal framework.