Tragic World Cup Aftermath: Trial Begins for Teen’s Death in Montpellier

On December 14, 2022, about a hundred supporters had gone down a street in the La Mosson neighborhood, on the outskirts of Montpellier, following this semi-final won by France (2-0). It was during these celebrations that Aymen had been violently hit by William C., a 20-year-old man. The teenager succumbed to his injuries after being rushed to the hospital, recalls Sud Ouest. His death had caused great emotion in Montpellier, where a thousand people had marched, white roses in hand, to pay tribute to him.

"This is a delicate case, as it involves the death of a child," says Marc Gallix, the victim’s family’s lawyer. Before the tragic incident, the driver "had been harassed by a group of young people who had torn off a tricolor flag" attached to one of his doors, the investigators say. He had then started off at full speed, hitting young people, including Aymen, who died shortly afterwards. Another teenager had been injured.

The investigators managed to arrest the driver twelve days later, in the Pyrénées-Orientales. He was indicted for "intentional violence with a weapon resulting in death without intent to give it" and "intentional violence with a weapon resulting in total incapacity for work exceeding eight days". A member of his family had been indicted for "concealment of a criminal from arrest or search".

Aymen’s family "is not driven by a desire for revenge. They want justice to be done. They also hope that the perpetrator will tell the truth, which he has not yet done," says Me Gallix. For his part, William C., who would have a real "cognitive deficit," according to the psychological assessment, claimed that he had "not intended to hit the people [...], that he had not realized [...] that he had injured and even less that he had killed someone." According to his lawyer, Jean-Baptiste Mousset, he would be subjected to violence in detention by "people claiming to be close to the victim." The two-day trial that will open this Wednesday will shed light on this case.