While Thomas’ funeral took place this Friday, November 24, the investigation continues. Some suspects in the Crépol attack, still in police custody, gave their version of the facts.
The nine suspects in the Crépol attack were still in police custody on Friday November 24, the day of Thomas’ funeral. Police custody which should continue until Saturday noon. All were arrested on Tuesday November 21 as part of the investigation for “murder” and “attempted murder by an organized gang” opened after the death of Thomas at the village ball in Drôme, on the night of Saturday 18 to Sunday November 19.
One of the nine suspects was “formally designated as the perpetrator of the fatal stabbing” of Thomas. The latter, however, denies having carried out the blow, as reported by BFMTV this Friday, confirming information from CNews. According to information from Parisian, several testimonies would however call it into question. However, it seems that the young man would not be the one who threw the first stab. According to the Valencia public prosecutor’s office, this 20-year-old individual is already known to the police and has been convicted twice for cases of “concealment of theft” and “carrying a bladed or incapacitating weapon of category D without legitimate reason “.
Who are the attackers in the attack in Crépol?
Of the nine suspects arrested, one was identified as the main suspect responsible for Thomas’ death. He is a 20-year-old man of French nationality. He was “born in Romans-sur-Isère to a mother also of French nationality and residing in the center [de Romans-sur-Isère]and not in the Monnaie district” as could have initially been assumed, according to a press release from the public prosecutor of Valencia. He has already been sentenced for concealment of theft and for carrying a category of bladed weapon. D. Above all, since September 25, he was prohibited from carrying a weapon for two years.
Concerning the other suspects, they are aged between 19 and 22 years old, except three of them who are minors over 16 years old. Among them, no conviction mentioned in the criminal record, according to the Valencia prosecutor’s office including Le Figaro echoes. Of the remaining five, two are 19 years old. One was born in Romans-sur-Isère, the other in Italy. No trace of conviction also in their record. RTL announces this Friday that some of the suspects in police custody are giving their version of the story. One of them, present at the evening before it took a tragic turn, talks about being teased about his physique by a group of rugby players. A first fight then allegedly took place and another suspect claims to have been stabbed. The sequence of events is now known.
Among these five remaining there is also a 20-year-old man, born in Romans-sur-Isère, whose criminal record is a little more extensive, including a sentence to community service “for an offense against the legislation on narcotics” and a “penal fine for a misdemeanor offense under the Highway Code”. A native of Romans-sur-Isère, aged 21, has two convictions in his record, including a prison sentence with a probationary suspension of two years, for acts of aggravated violence. The last man, aged 22, also has two mentions in his criminal record, including a sentence of “suspended imprisonment for acts of contempt and threats against holders of public authority and conduct of a vehicle without a license. As for the 21-year-old young man, the second mention refers to traffic offense(s).
All the suspects seem to know each other, seven of them were arrested near Toulouse during a possible escape attempt to Spain and the last two were arrested in Romans-sur-Isère. According to several testimonies, the group came “to fight with the people present at the evening”. The lawyer for four of the suspects, however, assures that his clients went to the Crépol ball to party and that the evening degenerated, thus refuting the hypothesis of a premeditated attack.
The investigation entrusted to the research section of the Grenoble gendarmerie must continue to determine the possible premeditation of the attack in Crépol. Investigators must also establish the suspects’ motives. In the first days of the investigation, the public prosecutor confided to the Dauphiné Libéré that “the facts would amount to a settling of scores”.
An emotional funeral
Thomas’ funeral was held on Friday, November 24, in the town of Saint-Donat-sur-l’Herbasse. The Dauphiné Libéré specified on Friday morning that many people were present at the church where the ceremony took place in the morning. Chairs and speakers were set up outside the church so that the crowd present could attend the ceremony. According to France Blueno less than 2,000 people made the trip.
During the ceremony, Thomas’ grandfather spoke on behalf of the family. “Thomas was a good boy, reserved, well-mannered and helpful. He enjoyed life to the fullest and often used grandpa and grandma to pick him up from school, go to the gym, take him fishing or go see friends “, he began, before returning to the terrible tragedy. “A gang of thugs who had a knife instead of his heart took his life, his festive joy with his friends and put the family in indescribable sadness,” he declared, before thanking the police for their efficiency and to confide their expectations regarding justice. “These people, savages, must be put away from our society very quickly. Nevertheless, and in any case, this will never give us back my Thomas… Sorry Mamie, our Thomas,” said -he concluded.
Thursday evening, a funeral wake was organized at the Crépol church. A vigil organized at the initiative of the parish, but with the agreement of the family. According to France Bleu, more than 400 people gathered, some of whom had to stay outside, in front of the church, due to not having a place inside, according to the BFMTV reporter. A vigil which was intended to be “a moment of hope, in the midst of tragedy and pain”, according to Father Dominique Fornerod, the parish priest.
On Wednesday, a white march was also organized by his family in Romans-sur-Isère and brought together 6,000 people. In the columns of Paris MatchThomas’ mother denounced the attack against her son and shared her pain: “They took away my Thomas. All of this is furious madness.”
What happened at the Crépol ball?
The fatal attack occurred on the night of November 18 to 19, when between 300 and 400 young people had gathered in the village hall of Crépol, in Drôme, for the winter ball. According to information from Parisian, which relays the testimonies of those held in police custody, it is a group of young men who would have heard of the presence of “many girls” at the Crépol ball who would have gone there, and not, as it may have been reported, young people came to fight with the participants. Upon their arrival, the group split into two, some entering the party hall, the others preferring to drink flashes (strong alcohol) near a convenience store. For the moment, the story does not say whether those confined to the flashes were refused access to the room upon their arrival.
While there was once talk of a refusal of entry, which would have led to the fight which cost young Thomas his life, some suspects claim to have simply responded to provocation. According to them, a rugby player close to Thomas would have pulled the hair of one of their number at the end of the evening, calling him a “Chiquita”, or a little girl.. This was followed by heated verbal exchanges, then an exit from the party room and a general fight which was then joined by the team remaining at the supermarket, some of whose members had knives on them.
Regardless, firefighters intervened around 2 a.m. and took care of around twenty people, according to the authorities. According to the latest report, 16 people aged 23 to 28 were injured and two were in absolute emergency without life-threatening conditions. Thomas, a 16-year-old young man, was the only deceased victim. He succumbed to his injuries after receiving a “stab wound” to the heart and then the throat. The 28-year-old victim, released from the hospital, told RTL on Thursday November 23 that “two, three people arrived on [lui] and it’s there [qu’il s’est] crashed in the back”. And to specify: “It slightly hit my lung, it broke my rib.”