The victim was his neighbor and friend. Roberto Mandaglio was sentenced by the Assize Court of Eure-et-Loir on Wednesday for killing and cutting him up. The septuagenarian was sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment, with a security sentence of fifteen years. The court complied with the submissions of the attorney general who had requested the maximum sentence for this murder.

The 72-year-old defendant has repeatedly denied his involvement throughout the investigation and the three days of his trial in Chartres, without providing credible answers to the questions asked during the hearing. The investigation established that the victim had been killed by several shots from a rifle before being cut up in the arms and head, and found between a small road and a stream in Les Autels-Villevillon in February 2020.

An "alcoholic and violent" man

Some traces of blood and flesh belonging to the victim had been found by investigators on personal belongings belonging to the accused, but also weapons that could have been used to cut up the body. On the stand, witnesses painted a somber portrait of the accused, describing a violent man, able to pull out the gun to settle scores.

Ex-girlfriends also spoke of a "threatening, alcoholic and violent" man, one of them claiming to have been shot in the past. The accused has already been convicted three times by the courts for possession of prohibited weapons, non-payment of alimony and concealment of theft.

The defense aims for "weaknesses in the investigation"

"Roberto Mandaglio is someone who does have deficiencies in his personality. She is a big mouth who loves alcohol and weapons. His personality orients towards guilt, but in detail, it is much less clear, "pleaded a first defense lawyer, François Carré.

Believing that there were "weaknesses in the technical investigation", the second lawyer of the accused Nicolas Calderero, pleaded the fact that the investigations had not made it possible to determine which weapon had been used to shoot the victim and on what date. But also that "the saw and the pruning hook found at Mr. Mandaglio's home that could have been used to cut up the body bore no trace of blood". He also considered that leads had been closed too quickly during the investigation, evoking that of a possible settling of scores around drug trafficking.

  • Justice
  • Eure-et-Loir
  • Centre-Val de Loire
  • Homicide
  • Murder