In August of 2020, three people visited the home of a man nicknamed Tarzan in Bomal. Their objective was to extract a confession from the victim about alleged immoral acts that were never proven. However, one of the visitors, Antoine Marchal, was violently beaten and the trio left with Tarzan’s car and personal belongings. The jury did not differentiate between the defendants regarding guilt for murder and willingness to kill. The defendants rejected responsibility, but the jury considered evidence such as a planned attack, purchasing of rope, and statements of revenge to come to their decision. The fourth defendant was only charged with concealing a GPS stolen from Marchal and was found guilty for this act.
The trio had gone to the home of the man nicknamed Tarzan, in Bomal, on August 31, 2020. According to Mélissa Sauvage, it was a question of extracting a confession from the victim about alleged acts of morals (which did not have moreover never been substantiated). But Antoine Marchal had been violently beaten. The trio had left Bomal with Tarzan’s car and his personal effects.
The jury therefore did not differentiate between the defendants regarding guilt in relation to murder, and therefore willingness to kill. The three defendants, however, rejected the responsibilities
The following elements were taken into account in particular to justify this decision: the file showed that a plan had been planned by the defendants aimed at going to Antoine Marchal’s house to steal his car and inflict violence on the victim, the fact that Mélissa Vengeance had expressed ideas of revenge against his father, the fact that rope had been bought in order to be able to tie Antoine Marchal if necessary. Fabrice Duchesne just claimed to want to separate Renaud Dessart and Antoine Marchal during the altercation. But the jury considers that this does not match the analysis of the file, in particular because of the statements of his co-accused or the presence of his DNA on the spot in Bomal.
The 4th defendant, prosecuted only for concealment of a GPS stolen from Antoine Marchal, was, unsurprisingly, found guilty just for this fact.
In conclusion, the brutal murder of Antoine Marchal has finally been brought to justice with the guilty verdicts for the three defendants. The jury carefully examined the evidence presented and came to the decision that the trio had not only planned to steal the victim’s car, but also intended to inflict harm. The facts revealed during the trial shed light on the disturbing motivations and actions of those involved. The guilty verdicts will hopefully serve as a warning that such heinous crimes will not go unpunished. Our thoughts go out to the family and loved ones of Antoine Marchal during this difficult time.