Trial of a barbaric murder without the main suspect, on the run in Morocco

The trial that opened in Carcassonne looks back on a crime of extreme violence committed during the summer of 2022. Bernard Durandeau, 78 years old, was massacred with a bladed weapon at his home before being cut up with a saw. Only two women are present in the dock of the accused, the main perpetrator of the blows being tried by default.

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According to the elements reported by L’Indépendant, the main suspect, Hamza Farissi, managed to leave France. Helped by his mother, this 41-year-old repeat offender joined Morocco in November 2022 using his brother’s identity. Since that date, he has been considered a fugitive and has completely disappeared from the radar.

The individual has a heavy criminal profile with thirteen convictions on his record. In 2005, he had already been sentenced by the same court to eighteen years in prison for a previous murder committed in Quillan. This propensity for extreme violence marked the debates of the first day of the hearing.

The two co-defendants, Laurence Dupuis and Valérie Tacquet, contest their complicity in the murder. They claim that the initial intention was simply to "scare" the victim. However, the investigation reveals that they would have helped the murderer to enter the apartment, provided the knife and participated in the cleaning of the crime scene after the dismemberment of the body.

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The verdict is expected on Tuesday, April 7 after several days of debate. Hamza Farissi and Laurence Dupuis face life imprisonment for these acts of barbarism committed in recidivism. Valérie Tacquet, the retiree’s neighbor, faces a sentence of thirty years in prison.