Boulevard Saint-Germain (6th arrondissement) is gradually coming to life. The traffic is getting denser. It’s about 18:00, and, as usual, cars can hardly coexist with buses, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes… But on this Wednesday evening it’s even more difficult. Police condemned a lane of traffic near the famous German establishment Mabillon. The system is being gradually implemented to reconstruct the murder of Federico Martin-Aramburu, a 42-year-old former Argentine rugby player killed here on March 19, 2022.
A curious question in the presence of a handful of journalists. And the residents of the neighborhood remember: “Oh yes, the murder of Mabillon.” Only those who can prove their address are allowed to enter the police-protected area.
Magistrates, lawyers, and judicial police investigators are present to relive this tragic morning. With one task: to oppose the declarations on the ground, compare them with ballistics, which position is for whom and, above all, highlight the inconsistencies and incompatibility of the declarations. To do this, the jeep in which the suspects were driving was taken out of the garage. Around 8 p.m., a tarpaulin stamp reading “Police Headquarters” is unfurled to keep this re-enactment out of sight. Some relatives of the suspects made the trip but will stay away.
Assassination or murder?
Loïc Le Priaulx, 28, and Romain Bouvier, 32, two far-right figures, are charged in this open murder case. But only Le Priaulx is present. He appears wearing a heavy helmet, his face covered with a surgical mask, and a bulletproof vest on his shoulders.
When asked by our colleagues from France Bleu Pays basque Me Christophe Cariou-Martin, lawyer for Sean Hegarty, a friend of Federico Martin-Aramburu who was present during the events and represented the civil side, explained that the purpose of this reconstruction is to “ultimately eliminate any theory other than the theory of premeditated murder.” During the investigation, Loïc Le Priaulx actually challenged this deliberate plan.
On March 19, at about 6:45 a.m., Federico Martin-Aramburu was shot five times in front of his hotel, about 100 meters from Le Mabillon, where he had been involved in an altercation a few minutes earlier. He fell in front of 146 Boulevard Saint-Germain. A few days after the escape, two suspects were arrested. “Priol” was caught in Hungary, a transit country, as it planned to go to Ukraine. Bouvier was arrested in Sarthe. The man who allegedly helped him escape has been charged with “eluding a criminal.” The fourth defendant in the case is Lyson R., Le Priaulx’s partner, who is accused of being an accessory to murder. She is suspected of driving the jeep that transported two of the main suspects on the night of the murder.
None of the lawyers contacted were willing to speak ahead of the reconstruction, which was expected to last late into the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
Source: Le Parisien
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a keen interest in sports and have written for many different publications. I am currently working as an author at 24 News Recorder. I cover mostly sports news but also write about other topics such as current affairs and politics. I have a strong interest in social media and how it can be used to engage with audiences.
