14 years of imprisonment for voluntary homicide.

The Advocate-General had required 15 years of imprisonment and a 10-year ban on the French territory. Finally, Diedus Metellus, a 61-year old man from Haiti and resident in Saint-Martin was sentenced Tuesday, April 4 by the Guadeloupe Assize Court to fourteen years of imprisonment. He was found guilty of the murder of Faustin Defrance, 40 years old, outside a Chinese convenience store on December 20, 2014 in Sandy Ground.

That day, between 7:30 and 8 pm, the two men are in front of the store, as they used to be, but for reasons that are unclear, Diedus Metellus pulls a knife from his pocket and sticks it in the abdomen of Faustin, severing the liver in two and cutting the vena cava causing significant bleeding. The victim died in the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital.

According to testimonies, Faustin Defrance was coming to help the store manager by ensuring the security of the property at the time of closing. As well as Diedus Mettelus. Hence a rivalry between the two.

However, according to the pictures of CCTV that the grocer has given to investigators, the two men were calm, there was no dispute between them when, suddenly, Mettelus pulled out a knife and actually used it.

After denying the facts, he acknowledged before the Assize Court giving blows. It has been shown the t-shirt with the number 5 in the back he was wearing at the time. He explained that the victim had threatened to kill him.

At the trial, his attorney has also emphasized this fact, he simply wanted to “hurt” Faustin but had no intention to kill him.

The weapon covered in blood had been recovered on the ground by the retailer and given to the police. Analysis of the samples revealed that the blood on the knife was the victim.

A witness had tried to come between the two men, in vain, and had been injured.

Toxicology tests have revealed the presence of cocaine and alcohol of 2.46 grams per liter of blood in the accused in question. And nothing in the case of the victim.

Diedus Mettelus, who had fled, was arrested two hours later by the gendarmes. A judicial inquiry had been opened on the murder on December 22 and Mettelus had been indicted the same day. A warrant had been issued against him on December 24. Since then he was in pre-trial custody.