The closed trial of the author of the fatal stab in the head of Éloi-An, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Saint-Joseph, opens at the Reims courthouse (Marne), this Wednesday, June 29. His parents are calling for a severe sentence.
It’s time for meditation, in front of the Reims courthouse (Marne), this Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 8:10 a.m. It is here that the trial of the author of the fatal stab wound to Éloi-An, 14, takes place. Educated at Saint-Joseph College, he was seriously injured on Thursday June 2, 2021 near the cathedral, just a stone’s throw from the courthouse.
The middle schooler “very sociable, dedicated, humble, helpful, and always smiling” never recovered from the stab wound he received in the temple (apparently due to a mockery addressed to his comrade who had posted a rap video on a social network). He succumbed to it in his hospital room on Saturday August 21, 2021. The Delattre family was torn apart during this disastrous day, and is still healing its wounds today. If the sky is blue and the sun is shining, the clouds are still brooding in hearts.
A dozen people gathered one hour before the start of the trial (at 9 am). Dressed in white T-shirts, they also wore black pins stamped “I am Éloi-An”. Because the emotion was strong following this dramatic story: more than fifty people took part in a white march which was held a year later.
–
Among them, the parents. Stiff in their dark clothes and looking straight, waiting for a conviction for a whole year has done its work. “We are here to hear justice”declares calmly, but firmly the mother, Valérie. “Take the punishment this murderer deserves.”
Despite the overwhelming presence of witnesses and the videotapes recovered via video surveillance, the author (presumed by law) of the stabbing remains considered a suspect, and can only be found guilty at the end of the trial. . Aged 14, he was imprisoned the day after the attack, on the sidelines of the investigation and the trial. He faces 20 years in prison (if he was an adult, it would possibly be life).
–
“[Il faut] the heaviest possible sentence given the seriousness of the facts. He must understand that it is serious, what he has done: even today, he does not even realize. He took away a child’s life and future prospects, he put family and friends – he had plenty of them – in despair.”
“We need it”continues the mother. “We are parents who have had their child taken with violence. We are waiting for reparation, and among the reparation, there is the heaviest possible criminal sentence. We will be attentive: we know that judges are sovereign, this It will be up to them to decide. The fact remains that we are awaiting a severe sentence. Very severe.”
–
The emotion manifests itself on the side of other relatives. Next to the parents, a young girl is crying. She finds herself in the company of an adult who herself receives a comforting hug.
Bend but don’t break. Despite the year of legal proceedings, the family holds on despite the exhaustion. “We are sad and angry. It’s your life that is falling apart. Every day is a survival. It’s hard to tell ourselves every day that we’re not going to see him, that he’s not going to be at the breakfast, that we’re not going to say goodbye to him when he goes to college… That we’ll never have everything we had planned: his driving license, his girlfriend whom he introduces to us …” All the “stages of the life we have with children”, in short. The child will never be forgotten; a website even perpetuates his memory.
–
Éloi-An will never become a Republican Guard. His dream. “He was a horse riding enthusiast”observes his dad whose eyes shine a little. “He would have been a magnificent, very handsome Republican Guard, a noble profession given his values, very, very strong values for a 14-year-old young man… He will never have the chance to be.” He also highlights these values by recalling an anecdote: at the end of a horse competition, Éloi-An (who had won) preferred to console and support a comrade who had failed, rather than boasting about his victory. … doing it “go fishing again”.
Among the supporters of the family, we organized ourselves to show his presence during the three days. Not all day, the trial being behind closed doors, but every morning and evening so that the family does not feel lonely: “we are here for them”, “we don’t want them to go out of there alone”, “it’s important to be there”.
–
The older sister, Li-Anne, was broken by the drama. First seated on the steps of the court, a bit at a distance, she then got up to go to the bakery and buy a snack for her parents. What hold the long duration of the lawsuit. Because life goes on…
The first day is devoted to hearing witnesses. On Thursday June 30, it will be the turn of a ballet “of experts, police, scientists, doctors”. The indictments will be issued on Friday. The family’s attorney, Simon Miravete, had no comment.
–
At 8:50 a.m. the doors open. You have to go through the security gates. The Delattre family is committed to it. To carry his hopes there “for a strong justice and a just force”, as Blaise Pascal would have said.
–
