The man suspected of fatally attacking a nurse with a knife at Reims University Hospital on Monday, also injuring a secretary, was charged on Wednesday with “assassination” and “attempted assassination” and jailed, the Reims prosecutor said , Matthieu Bourette.
• Also read: Death of a nurse attacked with a knife in a hospital in France
The defendant, who said he wanted “vengeance” on “hospital staff,” was remanded in custody “in accordance with prosecutor’s orders,” prosecutor Matthieu Bourrette said.
The 59-year-old Rémois, single and without a job, suffers from “schizophrenia and paranoia”. He has been persecuted since 1985 and recognized as a disabled adult, the prosecutor explained at a press conference.
During interrogation, the suspect stated that he had inflicted “several stab wounds” on the victims “due to their condition” and “wanted to go to a psychiatric ward”.
He acknowledged his actions, saying he had “considered his package for several months”. He says he bought the 8-inch “kitchen knife” that he was using that same day.
Upon his arrest, he told police that “every time he encountered a white coat, he would light it because he wanted revenge” for “having been mistreated by the psychiatric community for several years,” the prosecutor continued away.
The two victims were attacked with a knife in the changing rooms of their department at the CHU de Reims on Monday early in the afternoon. Nurse Carène Mezino, 37, mother of two children aged 8 and 11, died overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
The 56-year-old medical assistant said she “suffered five stab wounds.” According to Health Minister François Braun, she is “out of the operating room” and remains “under observation”.
The suspect was charged in Châlons-en-Champagne in 2017 with “serious violence” which he inflicted “with a knife” on four people at an employment assistance facility (ESAT) where he worked after dropping out of his treatment, Mr Bourrette pointed out .
A hearing is scheduled for Friday to decide on the possible “removal” of his “sights” in that first case. In this context, security measures can be decided “which can go as far as forced hospitalization”. His lawyer had requested a dismissal, his law firm told the AFP news agency.
The suspect was regularly hospitalized and placed under “enhanced guardianship” and subjected to daily drug treatment. The investigation must clarify whether he stopped his care or not, which may have contributed to “acting”, the prosecutor emphasized.
A minute’s silence was observed in all hospitals in France on Wednesday to commemorate the nurse whose Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne praised “energy and gentleness, empathy and professionalism”.
A hundred people gathered in the courtyard of the Reims hospital in front of white flowers placed by colleagues and patients.
This murder “immediately raises the question of the catastrophic situation in the care of the mentally ill,” Force Ouvrière Santé reacted on Tuesday.
Nursing home staff have complained of an increase in verbal or physical violence by patients and their companions. Many establishments have had to step up their security measures and hire security guards.
Health Minister François Braun will bring together unions on health safety on Thursday.
Ideas mentioned Wednesday morning on BFMTV include: “More light in the parking lot where the nurse goes to at 10pm at night, don’t wait two months to change the office door and cloakroom digicode”. He also advises caregivers to always “report” violence.