Moroccan Immigrant’s Children Testify in Mother’s Murder Trial

At the stand, four of the five children of the Ben Hammadi couple who have joined the civil party: two sons and two daughters, reports Actu.fr. The eldest son takes the stand first. "I am the accused’s son, and it is my mother who was murdered," he tells the Court. This Moroccan-born line driver has good memories of his mother. "They always raised us well," he says, before asking his father a question. "Why did you do that?" he asked him. "I didn’t do anything," the accused replied. His son continues: "Who did it then?" No answer.

In turn, the eldest daughter of the couple paints a portrait of the victim. "She would have celebrated her 71st birthday last week." She remembers the pleasant Sunday mornings spent together "with always a long breakfast." In 1995, his mother is affected by multiple sclerosis, a disease that has worsened over time. "Our life was then organized around our mother, we had our rituals, with my sister, we took turns going there on weekends. From one day to the next, you have nothing left, no more bearings," recounts the victim’s and the accused’s daughter.

She mentions the first point of contention between her two parents: "my father did not understand why my mother was receiving a pension when she had been a housewife." From the children’s testimony, it emerges that the accused began to change his behavior in 2016. "That’s where the breaking point is," explains the younger one. She lived with her parents until she was 28 years old. A few months before her mother’s murder, she says she received an anonymous call from Morocco: "It’s a woman, whom I don’t know but who knows me. She tells me that my mother will die of grief and shame, because my father has a mistress in Morocco."

According to the accused, the young Moroccan woman in question is only his client. He was supposed to sell her a washing machine, a television and a telephone. He had also made several Western Union transfers to her. For the eldest son, this alleged client is "a call girl." "We found her number, and she knew our father well." During the hearing of the younger daughter, tears streamed down the father’s face. "That’s my darling," he says. However, he continues to deny the accusations. Verdict expected today.