Singer gets 8 years for death of French actress

A Lithuanian court sentenced French rock singer Bertrand Cantat to eight years in jail yesterday for beating his film star lover to death in a drunken and jealous rage. Daniel McLaughlin reports from Moscow

Cantat flew into a frenzy during a row with Marie Trintignant last July in their hotel room in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, after she received a romantic text message from her husband.

The court heard that the lead singer of rock group Noir Désir punched Ms Trintignant 19 times, fracturing her facial bones and causing brain damage. The 41-year-old fell into a coma, and died after surgery in a Paris hospital a week later.

Addressing a court attended by relatives and friends of Cantat and Ms Trintignant, Judge Vilmantas Gaidelis said the singer had not meant to kill his lover: "He did not want the consequences, but they occurred. The guilt of the accused is unquestionable."

Cantat faced a maximum 15-year sentence for murder, but his lawyer argued that the millionaire musician was guilty of reckless manslaughter, which carries a four-year maximum term.

When asked if he understood the verdict, Cantat nodded and said "Yes" before being led back to the Tsarist-era prison where he has been held for eight months.

Mr Olivier Metzner, lawyer for the singer, said he would probably appeal the verdict of the trial that took less than two weeks to rule on a case that has transfixed France for months, and sparked renewed debate there on violence against women.

Cantat finished giving testimony last Monday, with a final, impassioned plea to the family of Ms Trintignant, whose father was leading actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, co-star to Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Woman.