After almost a year spent in a cell in Montagne Posée prison, in the Seychelles, Thomas Debatisse, alias Otom, will be able to return to France. As a free man. Judged on the spot for the murder of his companion Emmanuelle Badibanga, found lifeless on the evening of April 27, 2021 in their hotel room, the street artist was acquitted “by a very large majority, of six jurors out of eight”, indicated to 20 Minutes his lawyer Me Richard Sedillot.
This verdict, experienced as a “huge relief” by the defense of the 35-year-old Niçois who has never ceased to proclaim his innocence, was announced very late in the night from Thursday to Friday, after three hours of deliberation and nearly two month and a half of trial. A priori record time for the Supreme Court of this archipelago in the Indian Ocean marked by heated debates in particular on the conclusions of the local medical examiner.
The version of murder versus that of suicide
After the verdict, Me Richard Sedillot, who was supported on the spot by the Seychellois lawyer Bazil Hoareau, once again denounced “the shameless lies” and “the remarks contrary to all scientific truth” of this specialist. “He asked for the arrest of Thomas Debastisse on the basis of two photographs and even before he did an autopsy, he recalls. The investigation was carried out in absolutely disastrous conditions. All the acts that should have been done were not done. »
Found hanging from the towel hook in the bathroom of Club Med in which she was invited with Thomas Debatisse, Emmanuelle Badibanga, 32, was, according to the prosecution, the victim of strangulation. A parallel investigation opened by the Nice prosecutor’s office leaned more towards the suicide trail. Histopathological examinations carried out in Marseille thus came “to confirm a hanging and no strangulation”, according to the public prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme.
A thesis rejected by the family of the victim, manager of a place dedicated to events in Nice. His mother and his cousin explained in Nice morning that she was “joyful” and “energetic” and certainly not “depressed” or “suicidal”. They also evoked an argument that would have broken out within the couple, shortly before the facts.
The doubt must benefit the accused
Elements also debated at the hearing. But the jury declared Thomas Debatisse not guilty “because the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt”, according to a source close to the case. Doubt which must always benefit the accused according to the Seychellois Constitution.
Me Richard Sedillot believes for his part that “the decision is perfectly legitimate and logical”. “The jurors obviously realized that Thomas Debatisse could not be in the room where the tragedy took place at the time of Emmanuelle Badibanga’s death and that all the medical findings were in favor of the hanging and not strangulation,” he said.
After a very short last night in prison “to carry out the necessary formalities before the final lifting of the nuts”, Thomas Debatisse will be free during the day, this Friday, his lawyer still affirms to 20 Minutes. “And he will obviously be looking forward to reuniting with all his relatives in Nice as soon as possible,” he said.