Macabre discovery, Tuesday evening, in a high school in Reims, in Marne. A student was found dead in the toilets by staff members at the Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle establishment. The boy, 15, was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. Who is he ? What is the cause of his death? Where is the investigation? 20 minutes make the point.
Who is this teenager?
His name was Baptiste and he came from the Vouziers sector, in the neighboring Ardennes department. In second grade since the start of the school year, the young man arrived at this vocational high school in September 2023 and had boarding status. “He was a very nice and trouble-free student,” said France 3 Champagne-Ardenne one of his comrades. “He was at the cinema club, passionate about this world and that of audiovisual technology,” added another. A volunteer since the start of the September school year at Radio Jeunes Reims, an associative radio station based in the high school but independent of the establishment, he “came to our house to take a little freedom”, according to James Jouffroy, manager of the station. “He was in a cocoon here. »
What is the cause of his death?
The teenager was found dead in a bathroom with the door closed. Did he succumb naturally to cardiac arrest while feeling unwell or did he commit suicide? An autopsy, scheduled for Thursday, will help define it. Baptiste suffered from a certain “discomfort” at high school according to the director of the establishment.
He was “a young person who was researching” himself, “who was questioning himself like many young people of his age”, explained Didier Tilly, who also reported “mockery”. What about ? The idea of the teenager’s sexual orientation was raised, according to the local channel. This possible harassment has not been confirmed. When contacted, the management of the La Salle foundation said it was “appalled” by this death, and refused to comment on possible harassment mentioned by high school students.
Where is the investigation?
The police found no visible traces of violence and nothing to support the hypothesis of suicide according to The union. Here again, the autopsy could be decisive in the rest of the investigation. This, in search of the causes of death, was entrusted to the Reims police, says the prosecutor. A psychological support unit was set up this Wednesday at the Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle high school. A mass is also scheduled for Thursday within the establishment, in memory of Baptiste.
The Minister of National Education Nicole Belloubet called for “light” on this death on Wednesday. “Light must be shed on this tragedy: this is what I asked of the network of which this establishment is a part,” she reacted on X (ex-Twitter)
A bouquet of white roses was left in front of the entrance to the establishment.