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Trial Opens for Farmer Accused of Ramming Neighbors' Homes With Tractor in Charente-Maritime

A contested psychiatric finding of altered judgment could shape the court's view of responsibility.

Overview

  • Jean-Christophe Bounne, 59, is being tried in Saintes from December 8 to 10 on charges including attempted murder and repeat death threats.
  • Prosecutors say he drove a tractor fitted with a fork into two houses in Néré on July 2, 2023, targeting a 91-year-old's home and that of the Rabillard family.
  • A court-ordered expertise reported altered discernment at the time of the events, and the defense has asked for a new psychiatric evaluation.
  • Victims described a bathroom wall torn open and structural damage that forced the young family from their home, with witnesses recalling threats to set vehicles on fire.
  • Bounne was detained after a psychiatric hospitalization, placed in custody, and indicted on July 27, 2023, and he has six prior convictions from 2015 to 2020 for damage, harassment, and death threats.