A perverted psychopath": life sentence for the murderer of Sihem, 18, in the Gard

The overwhelming need for justice expressed by the victim’s family has found a firm response. On Wednesday, March 25, Mahfoud Hansali, 42, was sentenced to life imprisonment for having beaten and strangled the young woman, whose partially naked body had been found under branches in a thicket near Alès. As reported by the daily Midi Libre, the forensic doctor estimated the victim’s agony between one and three minutes.

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In his relentless indictment, the public prosecutor found no mitigating circumstances for the accused, describing him as a "perverted psychopath" deserving to spend the rest of his days in a cell. While the defense tried to highlight the fact that Mahfoud Hansali had relieved his conscience by indicating the location of the remains, his attitude during the debates weighed heavily against him. The man, who has already spent more than half his life behind bars, showed an absurd denial by refusing to admit the blows and strangulation, which were nevertheless formally proven by forensic medicine.

The most disturbing mystery in this case remains that of the motive. The initial thesis of a fake kidnapping linked to a drug trafficking has been swept away over the course of the hearings. The prosecution ultimately favored the hypothesis of a sexual assault that had degenerated, or an insistent flirtation refused by the young babysitter. According to the public prosecutor, Mahfoud Hansali killed her to prevent her from speaking out and denouncing him.

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Faced with the incisive questions of the jurors, particularly on the fact that he had never been violent towards his ex-wife in ten years of married life, the accused remained impenetrable. He takes with him the secret of this deadly closed-door session, but has made known through his lawyers that he accepts his sentence and will not appeal. A meager consolation for Sihem’s loved ones, who mourn the loss of a sunny young girl whose absence leaves an immense void.