He was indicted for aggravated murder on Saturday evening, before being imprisoned. In police custody, Fabien C., admitted to having killed his ex-spouse Aline at his home in La Guyonnière, near Montaigu, in Vendée. Thursday, June 1, the lifeless body of this 39-year-old woman working in the nearby Sodebo factory was found by firefighters. It was the suspect’s parents who alerted the emergency services, after receiving a call from their son explaining that he “thought he had killed his ex-girlfriend”.
The couple, married in 2012, had been separated since 2021 and divorce proceedings were underway. Their 8-year-old daughter lived at the home of her 39-year-old mother. Arrested at his home, Fabien B. said during his first custody hearing, having gone to the home of his ex-spouse to “have a discussion with her about the exercise of visitation rights”. He said he stabbed him twice, one in the left arm and the other in the ribs, according to the prosecution. Their little girl, present and asleep at the time of the events, was taken care of at the hospital.
Fabien B. had been sentenced to a suspended fine in February 2022 for malicious telephone calls to his ex-wife as well as for invasion of privacy. He had also been the subject of a criminal offense order in April 2023 for driving under the influence of narcotics and despite the suspension of his driving license.
The number of feminicides increased by 20% in France in 2021 compared to the previous year, with 122 women killed under the blows of their spouse or ex-spouse, according to the latest figures available from the Ministry of the Interior. Among the women killed by their spouse, 35% were victims of previous violence by their partner.