Vilnius, Aug 08: A French rock star who is
suspected of having beaten a leading French actress to death
has been charged with murder, a lawyer said today in
Lithuania, where the beating took place.
Rimas Andrikis, who is acting for the family of Marie
Trintignant, the dead actress, said prosecutors had told rock
singer Bertrand Cantat that he was being charged with murder,
and the court would be seeking an extension to a detention
order.
The 41-year-old Trintignant, the daughter of veteran
French film start Jean-Louis Trintignant, died last Friday in
a Paris hospital as a result of injuries sustained during an
overnight argument with Cantat in a Vilnius Hotel room a week
earlier.
Both Trintignant and Cantat, who is the lead singer
for the popular Noir Desir rock band, are extremely well
known in France, where the case has hit headlines.
The actress, who had four children and was involved
in a relationship with Cantat, was in Lithuania to make a
film for television that was being directed by her mother
Nadine Trintignant.
The Lithuanian public prosecutor has so far refused
requests from both the family of Trintignant and lawyers for
Cantat to have the singer extradited to France.
Bureau Report
