Reims Court Declares Nurse's Killer 'Penally Irresponsible'

Franck F., a man with schizophrenia and a history of violence, is ordered into full psychiatric care following the 2023 fatal stabbing of nurse Carène Mézino.

The Reims Court of Appeal ruled Franck F. 'penally irresponsible' on April 3, 2025, citing decades of schizophrenia and prior psychiatric evaluations.
Franck F. will be placed in full psychiatric care without consent and prohibited from contacting victims' families or possessing weapons for 20 years.
Carène Mézino, a 37-year-old nurse and mother of two, was fatally stabbed nine times by Franck F. at the CHU of Reims on May 22, 2023.
The suspect had previously attacked four staff members with a knife in 2017, yet systemic failures allowed him to remain unsupervised.
The Mézino family plans to pursue legal action against the justice and medical systems for ignoring repeated warnings about Franck F.'s dangerous behavior.