Overview
- Judges and jurors began a closed-door, four-day hearing in Pau on Tuesday, with a verdict expected Friday in the case of the pupil who fatally stabbed his Spanish teacher in 2023.
- The key question is criminal responsibility, as expert reports clash from full responsibility to slight impairment and a final November 2024 finding that his discernment was abolished.
- Prosecutors say the then-16-year-old brought an 18 cm kitchen knife wrapped the day before, locked the classroom door, and delivered a single fast stab to the chest, which points to preparation.
- Early testimony focused on the defendant’s mental health and medication, with references to a "small voice" he described hearing and to sertraline use that one expert noted is discouraged under 18 yet widely prescribed to teens in France.
- The case feeds a wider debate on school safety, as the education minister said 20,500 checks around schools in a year found about 800 knives and cutters, and the victim’s partner attends seeking a clear judicial account.