Written by Marie-Charlotte Perrier et Antonin White
Two days after the murder of a sexagenarian followed by the suicide of the main suspect in front of a dozen witnesses, the inhabitants of Châtonnay (Isère) are “in shock”. While a psychological help unit has just been set up, residents and neighbors seek to understand what happened.
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Since Wednesday evening, time seems to have stopped in the village of Châtonnay. Two days after the murder of a sexagenarian and the suspect’s suicide in front of a dozen witnesses, the inhabitants are still in shock.
“The heart of the village is affectednotes Jean-Michel Nogueras, the mayor (various) of the town. I went around the village this morning, it floats gloom. We feel that the soul of the Chatonnois has been impacted“.
The drama occurred Wednesday, April 30, in the early evening. That evening, a 70-year-old man went to the home of a sixty-something in Châtonnay (Isère) and would have killed him with a firearm. The 68 -year -old man targeted by shots “would be the new companion of the woman of the alleged perpetrator, according to the first statements collected on the scene“Said the prosecution.
The septuagenarian then went to a multipurpose room in the town where his wife took a yoga class with a group of ten people. Among the other participants was the wife of the mayor, who told her husband the horror of the scene she attended.
“When he arrived, he had a rifle and he killed himself in front of the yoga group. He addressed his wife, he would have said to him, ‘Look at what I am going to do’ before giving himself two shots. One left in the ceiling and the second touched his heart, relent to Jean-Michel Walnuts. They were all lying in the middle of the session, only the teacher saw her come in with the rifle. There were howls at the time of the shot, but as he fell immediately, they understood that it was finished“.
Immediately warned by his wife, the mayor went there quickly and provided first aid at suicide. “”When I arrived, I noticed that a person was lying. We attacked the cardiac massage, a nurse came to help us and set up the defibrillator“, Continues the elected official. In vain, the man will die on the spot from his injuries.
In this village in the North Island of barely 2,000 inhabitants, the news spread like a trail of powder this Wednesday evening. Especially since many residents heard the gunshots, and have witnessed the ambulances and gendarmerie cars that circulated howling sirens.
“I heard the two detonations and I saw a gray car go. At the time, I did not react. It was when I saw the firefighters arrive that I understood that it was Gérardtestifies Christian Coeur, one of the victim’s neighbors. He had already told me that he had received threats. I knew him well. On Tuesday, we repaired his car, we had discussed for two hours, drunk a coffee. I told him to be careful. We knew that he was going with the lady, and the gentleman who drew spoke to everyone. It’s very sad to get there“.
It feels like you have escaped something. Because when someone is in this state, he could have shot the people he saw.
A resident of Châtonnay
Two days after the drama, the feeling of having avoided a greater killing still haunts many spirits. “”Something else could have happened“, shivers the mayor.”Five minutes before he arrived, we were in the parking lot of the village hall. I was with my grandson and my daughter-in-law. It feels like you have escaped something. Because when someone is in this state, he could have shot the people he saw. We realize that there could have been more death, that he could have derived more“Adds a resident, interviewed alongside her grandson in the village.
“That evening, I was with a boyfriend and I heard a blow, Add the teenager. With my friends, we thought it was a firecracker, and when I got home I met lots of fire trucks, the gendarmerie. I feel upset and worried, he could have done a lot of damage“.
Same feeling for a cross resident this Friday morning, whose accommodation is close to the multipurpose room where the yoga course took place. “”I didn’t know people, but it’s shocking. This is the times where I go with my baby for the evening walk. If he took a madness, you never know how he had gone. It doesn’t reassure“, she testifies, adding that she dares”more too much“Since the drama.
In total, fifteen people were direct witnesses to the facts, whether in the house of the first victim or in the multipurpose room. An individual psychology unit was set up in the village to accompany people shocked throughout the month of May.
“The goal of the game is to repair what happened because people are very affected. Many people are cracking this morning, we really need this psychological help. Even I will benefit from it“, says Jean-Michel Nogueras, still upset by the scene he witnessed.
