Charges against man who killed Jewish kindergarten teacher while chanting verses from the Koran are DROPPED after it is ruled he suffered a psychotic episode by smoking cannabis
- Kobili Traore, 29, believed to have tortured Sarah Halimi in her Paris flat in 2017
- Mali immigrant shoved the 65-year-old mother from eleventh arrondissement
- He has admitted killing her but claimed he was not aware of his actions at time
- And the senior procureur général said that the killer should be sent to hospital
Kobili Traore, 29, is believed to have beaten Jewish mother-of-three Sarah Halimi (pictured) for hours before throwing her from her own third-floor window in Paris
A Muslim man who killed a Jewish kindergarten teacher has had murder charges against him dropped after it was ruled he suffered a psychotic episode by smoking cannabis.
Kobili Traore, 29, is believed to have tortured Sarah Halimi with beatings for hours in her Paris apartment while reciting lines from the Koran on April 4, 2017.
The Mali immigrant then shoved the 65-year-old mother-of-three from the eleventh arrondissement building before reportedly yelling: ‘I’ve killed the Shaitan (devil)!’
Earlier this week he admitted killing her but said he did not recognise when he broke in and claimed he was not aware of his actions.
‘I felt persecuted. When I saw the Torah and a chandelier in her home I felt oppressed. I saw her face transforming,’ he said according to The Jewish Chronicle.
Prosecutors disagreed over how to deal with the killer, with local ones initially calling for him to be tried but the senior procureur général saying he should be put in hospital.
Traore confessed to the murder of Halimi at her Paris apartment (stock image). Psychiatric examinations of the defendant, who claims to smoke up to 15 joints per day, found his mental functioning was impaired due to his cannabis intake
Psychiatric examinations of the defendant, who claims to smoke up to 15 joints per day, found his mental functioning was impaired due to his cannabis intake.
Although three assessments determined Traore’s long-term drug habit had not inflicted him with mental illness, their verdicts differed insofar as his mental capacity during the killing.
A hearing on Wednesday heard Traoré shouted ‘a woman is trying to kill herself’ before he threw her from the balcony.
Although three assessments determined Traore’s long-term drug habit had not inflicted him with mental illness, their verdicts differed insofar as his mental capacity during the killing
Lawyers for Ms Halimi’s family claimed this proved he was mounting a defence from the beginning.
The defendant’s lawyer Thomas Bidnic said: ‘This is Sarah Halimi’s tragedy, her family’s tragedy and this boy’s tragedy, although I’m not comparing the two. Sending him to hospital is not ideal nor sending him to prison.’
He admitted Traoré is ‘still a threat’ while he remains in a hospital getting limited medication.
A ruling on if he should face trial will be decided on December 19.