Murder in paradise? French man accused of murdering girlfriend remanded for two more weeks |09 June 2021

The French national accused of being implicated in the death of his girlfriend at the Club Med Hotel on Ste Anne island is due to re-appear in court on June 22, after Judge Melchior Vidot yesterday ordered that he remain in remand custody, to allow the prosecution to submit to court documentation and evidence relevant to the case.

The accused, who has been identified by French media as Thomas Debatisse, a street artist known as Otom, is expected to plead either guilty or not guilty to the offence at future court dates.

According to the facts of the case, on April 27, Emmanuelle Badibanga, the 32-year old girlfriend of the accused, also identified by French media, was found hanging from the towel rack in their bathroom at the island resort. The autopsy report carried out established that her death was not due to hanging but to a strangulation, suggesting a murder disguised as suicide.

Following the discovery, Debatisse was subsequently arrested and remanded in custody on May 5, and was officially charged with murder by the Supreme Court on May 26.

Still, according to Actualite24.fr, the couple resided in Nice, in the Alpes Maritimes where Ms Badibanga was the manager of a rental room and her companion Otom, 35, is a graffiti artist.

“At the time of the tragedy, they were travelling to the Seychelles at the invitation of the local management of Club Med, the artist from Nice having to paint frescoes on the walls of the hotel which was inaugurated on May 25,” the publication states, elaborating further to note that local authorities may still be looking for another suspect, who is thought to be on the run.

As per Section 193 of the Penal Code of Seychelles, any person who of malice aforethought causes the death of another person by an unlawful act or omission is guilty of murder while Section 194 states that any person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Laura Pillay