Verdict due in child's murder trial that gripped France
CTV
After three weeks of testimony that has riveted France, a verdict is expected in the trial of an former soldier accused of killing an 8-year-old girl during a wedding celebration in a French Alpine town.
Prosecutor Jacques Dallest is seeking the maximum of life in prison, for Nordahl Lelandais who is accused of kidnapping and killing Maelys de Araujo in 2017 after luring her into his car as wedding guests partied into the night.
The prosecutor had argued that the suspect represents a "considerable social danger" despite efforts to rehabilitate himself while in prison, including reading books on Buddhism.
Lelandais, a dog trainer, broke down in court and admitted to luring the young girl into his car and striking her violently "three or four times" when she cried. He said he had not meant to kill Maelys, whom he invited at 2:40 a.m. to see his dogs. He himself was a last-minute guest at the wedding, providing cocaine to some guests.
He had earlier led investigators to the site where he buried Maelys, several miles from the wedding fete. Investigators were never able to prove that the young girl was raped.
