“I regret what happened, I didn’t want to kill her (…) I understand the pain of the parents. I can only hope that one day maybe they can forgive me, even if I don’t deserve not forgiveness,” said the 61-year-old accused, who has been appearing since Monday and who is speaking for the first time this week on the merits of the case.
On their bench, the civil parties came closer together. Sophie Le Tan’s mother, brother and sister were not present.
On Wednesday, Sophie’s father had reproached the accused for not having apologized: “The family has not yet received a pardon from the murderer of their daughter”, had launched at the bar Tri Le Tan.
“I don’t know what got into me, I wish I could go back, go back in time, but I can’t,” said Jean-Marc Reiser, who had burst into tears a few minutes earlier, before to recover quickly.
Strasbourg student Sophie Le Tan disappeared on September 7, 2018, her 20th birthday, after visiting an apartment north of Strasbourg. The evidence quickly converged on Jean-Marc Reiser, who ended up admitting in early 2021 having killed and dismembered Sophie, a confession maintained at the start of his trial on Monday.
On the other hand, he still denies having premeditated his act and having set a trap for him, in particular by broadcasting a false rental ad to which the student had responded.
Already sentenced for two rapes, he is tried for murder as a legal recidivism and faces life imprisonment.
The verdict is expected on Tuesday.
