Champigny (France) Ivory Coast man sentenced to 25 years in jail for murdering partner over a TV remote control.
For the defendant's counsel, the accused lived thru a "climate of tension" with the victim's two sisters.
However, the victim reported him to the police for battery in December 2017 and on four other occasions for domestic disputes.
At a hearing on Monday, those close to the accused described him as "calm", "reserved", "hard-working", "helpful", " caring family man", passionate about figurative art and having had an "exemplary childhood in Côte d'Ivoire".
After spending several years in Italy, he moved to France in 2013 "to find work".
He was "kicked" out of the house on many occasions," said a friend.
An ex-girlfriend questioned by investigators claims to have been hit by the accused on several occasions during their relationship, "once the anger set in, nothing could stop him". "The look in his eyes would change when he was angry," said another ex-girlfriend.
On the ground, bleeding and dying, he kept verbally abusing her. Estelle, 36, was killed by her companion Serge, 33, in Champigny-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne). The tragedy took place on a Wednesday night in September 2018 in front of dozens of bemused neighbours.
"Help me! Help me!" It was not yet 11 pm when screams rang out in building 10 of the housing estate in rue Alexandre-Fourny in Champigny. Estelle was stabbed in the first floor flat. The stabbing was particularly violent, two of which struck the victim in the heart. "The kitchen knife was completely bent", said a witness.
The children witnessed the horrific scene.
A few seconds earlier, an argument broke out in the flat. According to reports, Serge complained about the television being too loud. It was probably a pretext, as the couple were in the process of separating. According to the murderer's version, Estelle grabbed a knife. He would have managed to take it from her. It was then that the victim's sister tried to intervene. She was injured in the face, hands and throat. "The sister had been visiting regularly," a neighbour said.
While the fire brigade tried desperately to save the victim by performing cardiac massage, three children, aged 1, 2 and 9, came out of building 10. Two of them were the couple's offspring. They witnessed the scene," said a neighbour. They had already argued in public before. He was holding a child in his arms.
On September 10 2021, almost three years to the day, Serge Dodo, son of 80s hitmaker Paul Dodo, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and the attempted murder of her sister.
Published on 10/09/2021
ivorycoasttribune.com
Staff writer