Man accused of murder of British girl in France dies of illness
The man had been in prison pending investigation of the alleged murder of an 11-year-old British girl
The prisoner had been moved from prison to hospital in light of his health condition, and died there
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A prisoner suspected of the murder of an 11-year-old British girl in France has died from illness, the prosecutor has confirmed.
The accused, a Belgian-born man in his 70s, named as Dirk Raats, had been in prison in Brest (Brittany), and was being investigated for the suspected murder of an 11-year-old girl, Solaine Thornton, in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot (Finistère), in June 2023.
He died of an unspecified illness last week, the prosecutor of Brest, Camille Miansoni, confirmed to AFP (reported by Le Figaro). Mr Raats had been moved from prison to hospital in light of his health condition. He died in hospital.
‘Chainsaw exasperation’
Mr Raats was imprisoned in June last year after allegedly opening fire on a British family, the Thorntons, living in a hamlet near the village of Plonévez-du-Faou (Finistère), as a result of a neighbourhood dispute.
He was arrested after a stand-off with the groupe d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale (GIGN).
Read also: Shock and tributes after British girl, 11, shot dead in French hamlet
The man was accused of firing multiple shots, which killed the girl, and severely injured her father in the head. The girl’s mother, Rachel, and the girl’s then-eight-year-old sister were also hospitalised with minor injuries.
The “neighbourhood dispute” that prompted the incident was due to Mr Raats’ “exasperation with the multiple works that the British father of the family was undertaking” on the family house, the Brest prosecutor said.
The suspect was particularly annoyed by the noise of the chainsaw, said Ms Miansoni at the time of Mr Raats’ arrest. “Over the years, there had been a profound exasperation, which led to this tragedy,” the magistrate added.
Mr Raats’ partner, a Belgian woman in her 70s, was also charged with failing to assist a person in danger, and was placed under judicial supervision.
Both Mr Raats and his partner were born in Antwerp (Belgium) and had no previous criminal record at the time of the incident. Both tested positive for cannabis and alcohol at the time of the events, the public prosecutor said.
Read also: Neighbour murdered Briton in France after she asked to borrow tape
Family lawyer response
In light of Mr Raats’ death, the lawyer for the Thornton family, Matthieu Chirez, told Ouest-France: “When the main defendant in a crime dies, as is the case here, there is inevitably an element of frustration, as we are deprived of a judicial debate and a trial, where we aspire to get to the truth.”
He added that while he was “not sure” that a trial would have “shed a great deal of relevant light” on the case, “given [Mr Raats’] state of health and personality”, the investigation is continuing, and the “deceased's partner will still be tried” for her alleged offences.
The death will “in no way prevent us from continuing to support the whole family”, he said, and “in no way detracts from the need to see this through to the end”.
The lawyer also said that news of the death had hit the family hard, particularly Rachel, who “has been carrying a lot of it alone”, given that the incident severely limited her husband’s capacities.
