Marlène Gournay, 34, was a French escort girl who worked in Geneva. In 2019, his body was found burned in a suitcase buried in a forest near Thonon-les-Bains. On Thursday, the Haute-Savoie Assize Court sentenced one of the defendants to thirteen years in prison for “robbery with violence resulting in death” and “harming the integrity of a corpse”. This 21-year-old man faced life imprisonment. The Advocate General had requested, on Wednesday, a twenty-year prison sentence.
On the night of September 9 to 10, 2019, the 30-year-old was assaulted at her Geneva home where she legally welcomed her clients. Two men were implicated in this case, but only Soheil Sabet was tried this week in Annecy. The other, Sonil Caboussat, 42, will later be in Switzerland.
“An easy plan with 50,000 euros to be won”
During the hearing, Soheil Sabet said he was influenced by the forties, who had previously served a prison sentence with his older brother. “He gave me confidence by talking to me about my brother,” assured the accused who, during the investigation, appeared to be involved in the resale of narcotics.
“I agreed to follow Sonil Caboussat, only because according to what he had told me, it was an easy plan, with 50,000 euros to be won”, explained Soheil Sabet, claiming to have been overwhelmed by the situation and the unwanted death of Marlène Gournay.
The two defendants accuse each other
Heard as a witness by videoconference from Geneva, Sonil Caboussat, described as an “evil genius” by Mr. Richard Zelmati, lawyer for Soheil Sabet, is known to the Swiss authorities. He is notably accused of cases of pimping and theft with a weapon. At the trial, a French investigator said he believed more in the version of Soheil Sabet, who had heard “a real tone of truth” according to him, while the two defendants continued to accuse each other.
To the man who presented himself as the companion of Marlène Gournay, Soheil Sabet apologized. “I get it, I understand you,” replied this man, a Swiss teacher. With him were present, on the civil party side, two cousins of the victim, whom the latter had designated as his only heirs three months before his death.
“Marlène Gournay lived generally alone, she died alone and it took little for there to be no one to represent her at this hearing”, said lawyer Marjorie Berruex, for the civil parties. .