“I lost my temper!” » On the first day of his trial, Valentin Marcone, prosecuted before the Gard assizes for having shot his boss and another colleague on May 11, 2021, at the Plantiers sawmill, in the heart of the Cévennes, tried to explain himself.
Was it a temporary madness, or was there premeditation? It is on this point that the jurors and the victims’ families are awaiting clarification. For investigators, these crimes were clearly planned.
“There is no logic”
The accused admitted the double murder, but he always denied premeditation, presenting himself as a victim who would have responded to an “accumulation of bullying”. He was in conflict with his boss, particularly over overtime issues.
However, he arrived well armed that day, and equipped with a bulletproof vest. But “I had my heavy vest and my weapon for several months,” he said, claiming to have been “threatened with death” by his former employer. “He was not happy that I put him before the industrial tribunal. […] He said he would send his brother to smoke me,” he explained.
“I freaked out, I took out my gun, I shot him. […] There is no logic. It’s not normal what I did,” admitted the accused. Valentin Marcone surrendered three days after the events, after a real manhunt in the forest.