It all started with a card game played at a café in Bettendorf in May 2018... things to a dark turn, and the subsequent attack and is now the subject of discussion at a court in Diekirch. A 46-year-old man is on trial for attempted manslaughter as he fetched a knife from his car, in the aftermath of the card game, and stabbed his 38-year-old victim.
A forensic doctor talked of a "not acutely, but abstractly life-threatening" wound. The stab wound was 10 cm deep and had hit the victim's 10th rib. Surgery wasn't necessary, but the victim spent three days in the intensive care and reanimation unit at the hospital.
The forensic doctor added that the victim was lucky that the left kidney hadn't suffered more serious harm. A police officer stated that the accused was found at the site of the attack, holding his hands above his head and saying that it had been him. At the time, the defendant had a blood alcohol level of nearly 1.7.
The barkeep explained that the two men had fought by the bar. When the victim had hit the bar, he had told both of them to leave. Following this, the accused threatened the victim and allegedly said that he would kill him. The barman thought it was alcohol induced empty talk. When the accused suddenly appeared with a knife, the victim attempted to use a terrace chair to protect himself, but it was already too late. The barman said that the victim lost a lot of blood.
The defendant said that the deed was the result of alcohol and the fact that he had been told off. He never thought that he would do something so stupid. The knife was intended to intimidate the victim and he had not threatened to kill him.
After the victim's lawyer, Françoise Gonner, requested and expert's opinion to establish the damages, the defendant's lawyer, Steve Rosa, said that his client had not intended to kill the other man. As a result, he requested that if there was to be a prison sentence, it should be suspended. The representative of the court, however, thought that the defendant had the intent to kill and that the accused should be sentenced to a ten year sentence, part of which could be suspended, and that the knife should be confiscated.
The sentencing is scheduled for 26 September.
