Thierry Ascione, an ex-fugitive of 65 years who was apprehended in October 2021 in Indonesia after being on the run for twenty years, faced his verdict on Friday, October 11. The Paris Assizes Court sentenced him to eighteen years of criminal imprisonment after finding him guilty of being an accomplice to murders and fraud, perpetuated more than three decades ago in Guatemala.
Initially, in June 2001, Ascione was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for being complicit in the murder of a French restaurant owner couple in Guatemala in December 1991. The court exceeded the demands of the prosecution who had asked for a fifteen-year prison term against the former fugitive. Thierry Ascione was seen as having taken an « active part » in planning the murder of Bernard Béreaud and Marie-Antoinette Perriard, owners of two well-regarded restaurants located in Guatemala’s capital city on the night of 27-28 December 1991.
Despite the charges, the accused has always rejected being involved in the crime, putting the blame on drug trafficker’s revenge. However, during the hearing, he confessed to cashing a check for 80,000 dollars from Bernard Béreaud’s account at a Miami bank, a few days following the double murder.
The case against Ascione started with his first arrest in Thailand in May 1995, when he was found in possession of an American passport which was stolen from a tourist in Vietnam. He was consequently extradited to France in September 1995, where he was indicted and jailed.
Après une incarcération provisoire de presque cinq ans, cet individu a été libéré en anticipation de son procès. Cependant, il a saisi cette opportunité pour s’évader, inaugurant une fuite de plus de deux décennies. Par un concours de circonstances, il a été appréhendé en Indonésie en octobre 2021 suite à une panne sur son voilier.
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