Overview
- Emmanuel Abayisenga, 45, is on trial for the 2021 killing of Father Olivier Maire, who had been hosting him at the Montfort Missionaries in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre.
- After refusing to attend the second day of hearings, citing fatigue, the court issued a mandate to compel his presence and he was brought in under escort.
- Abayisenga has largely remained silent in court and wrote that he did not want an interpreter or a lawyer, maintaining the stance he took on the opening day.
- The victim’s brothers addressed the court seeking to understand the motive, as the panel reviewed evidence including an autopsy citing fatal blows to the head and the accused’s self-report to gendarmes.
- Psychiatric experts reported altered discernment at the time of the facts, while the investigating magistrate retained premeditation in sending the case to the assize court, with a verdict expected Thursday.