a woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of her ex-companion
The victim’s lifeless body was discovered in the elevator of his residence in Calais. He had received 25 stab wounds in the abdomen, throat and chest.
Convicted of having murdered her ex-companion with 25 stab wounds in 2018 in Calais, against the backdrop of a dispute over the custody of their son, Yamina Bouazzi was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
The jurors did not follow through with the prosecution, who had required 22 years, denouncing an accused “self-centered, with superficial remorse” having “relentlessly” carried out a “premeditated” revenge. The Assize Court of Saint-Omer matched the sentence with a socio-judicial follow-up of six years, with obligation of care.
25 stab wounds
On the evening of Sunday April 22, 2018, the lifeless body of Eric Herzog, called Youssef since his conversion to Islam, was discovered in an elevator of his residence in Calais, stabbed 25 times in the abdomen, in the throat and in the chest.
Arrested at the foot of the building, on her bicycle, with two bloody ceramic knives in her bag, Yamina Bouazzi, 48, admitted the facts, which occurred after her ex-companion had obtained the placement of their son, of then three years, but denied any premeditation.
A position on which this mother of five children from different companions has camped since the opening of her trial on Monday, presenting herself before the court as the victim of a “monster”, who “beat her regularly”, seized on the day of the crime of an inexplicable impulse.
“I’m sorry”
“It’s as if the evil had entered my body”, said during the investigation of this woman consuming narcotics and alcohol, presenting, according to the psychological expert “great suffering and emotional frustration” as well as tendencies “aggressive, impulsive and temperamental”.
“I’m sorry for the crime I committed” and “I will accept the sentence,” she said before the jury retired.
But for the Advocate General, the substitute Mathilde Deloux, the premeditation was beyond doubt: “There are text messages sent, statements made to her neighbor”, where she treated her ex-companion, “son of a dog who stole my children”.
“Violence and Relentlessness”
His gestures to kill “are the result of something very determined”, insisted Mathilde Deloux, affirmed “the violence and the relentlessness” of which they attest.
“You sent your brother a text message where you mentioned the law of retaliation”, echoed him Me Sanaa Znaïdi, lawyer for the two daughters of the victim and his sister.
Not effective for the defense: “she was in hatred of the facts and called for help (…) when we plan to kill, do we send everyone text messages to say what you are going to do ?” Asked Me Emmanuelle Osmont.
Did the accused provide the knives or did they come from the victim?
Disabled following a motorcycle accident, the victim was described in court by his relatives, daughters, sister and ex-companions, as a “loving” father and an “affectionate” man.