A man killed his ex-wife this Tuesday with a shot to the head and then committed suicide in front of the judicial court in the French city of Montpellier, where they had to appear for civil procedures related to their divorce. The victim was a 66-year-old woman, who had been divorced from her alleged murderer, a 72-year-old man, for seven years.
As reported by the prosecutor in the case, Fabrice Bélargen, the deceased had been summoned at 2:00 p.m. “before the family judge to liquidate their property interests.” It was then that the man, who was waiting for the victim in front of the security checkpoints, shot “twice.” The first bullet “mortally wounded” his ex-partner and then “he pointed the gun at him.”
The people present around the palace and in the court rooms, who witnessed the crime in shock, were “confined before being evacuated” and access to the court was blocked. Furthermore, in the square in front of the palace, white sheets were hung to protect the bodies of the murderer and his victim, while firefighters and police worked.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed, was not known to the police or judicial services. Likewise, the prosecutor added that “the interested parties were not summoned to court in the framework of a domestic violence process.” “There was no ongoing process for violence and no protection order,” Bélargen insisted.
The French Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, has given his condolences, through the ‘X’ platform, to the victim and her family, and has expressed himself “horrified by the feminicide that has taken place.” He has also expressed his support for the court staff, who had to witness the event, and has activated a psychological assistance unit.
