A man was charged with the murder of his partner and detained following the death of her 50-year-old partner, the Nîmes prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday. He was found dead with a “swollen face” at his home on Thursday in Beaucaire (Gard).
The defendant appeared that day at the Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône) police station to inform “that he had just learned of the death of his partner at home”, said Nîmes prosecutor Cécile Gensac, in a press release. The victim, who does not work, “was found lying on the bed in the applicant’s bedroom, with a swollen face”.
Authorities suspect “connection between beating and death”
The defendant, aged 61, who works as a journalist, was “immediately detained by the police for the murder committed by his partner, pending the results of the autopsy”. This last point makes it possible “to suspect a connection between the beating and death,” the press release continued.
Based on his statement, he had a relationship with the victim but they each lived in their own homes. He added that their “alcohol consumption” was “very important on a daily basis for both of them”, as it was on the night of his partner’s death at her home.
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He assured her that “she was going to fall” and “had no specific memory other than initially finding her asleep before later realizing she was cold”, prosecutors said.
Three month contact ban
The couple experienced an episode of domestic violence on May 24, 2024, which was followed by a procedure that resulted in the companion being banned from contact for three months. “There were no incidents reported during the no-contact period,” explained Cécile Gensac.
The suspect appeared before an investigating judge on Friday and questioned the criminal cause of his death, the prosecutor added. The investigation continues after the apology letter to determine the exact context in which the incident occurred as well as the exact cause of death and the origin of the violence.
In France every day, more than three women become victims of femicide or attempted femicide in marriage, a figure that has risen in one year, according to data from the inter-ministerial mission for the protection of women (Miprof) published Thursday and covering the year 2024.
