The Cayenne Assize Court on Friday sentenced Dane Langhorne to 30 years in prison for the murder of Alicia Faye, a 25-year-old woman from Bordeaux killed in March 2021 in French Guiana while she was involved in a cocaine trafficking network between the Gironde region and the French overseas territories. Tried in absentia, the accused is currently a fugitive in Guyana and is the subject of an international arrest warrant.
Facing financial difficulties, Alicia Faye had agreed to transport €25.000 destined for a local drug supplier. Arriving in Cayenne on March 12, 2021, she was found dead less than 24 hours later. The young woman had been executed with a gunshot to the head in circumstances that remain partially unclear despite several years of investigation.
The factors that led to the conviction
The prosecution relied on several pieces of physical evidence to establish Dane Langhorne's responsibility. Investigators notably found traces of the victim's blood in his vehicle and on one of his shoes. Considered the last person to have seen Alicia Faye alive after picking her up from her hotel, he was found guilty of murder by the court.
In the same case, Dane Langhorne's partner was sentenced to six years in prison with an immediate warrant for her arrest. She was found guilty of aggravated theft of the victim's personal belongings after retrieving money and a suitcase from Alicia Faye's hotel room the day after the crime. However, Flaviano Makkai, presented by investigators as one of the key figures in the cocaine trafficking operation, was acquitted of charges of accessory to murder.
A verdict that does not dispel all the uncertainties.
At the hearing, Flaviano Makkai denied any involvement in the young woman's murder. Addressing the victim's father directly, he asserted that he had never ordered the crime and denounced the accusation as unjustified. He also stated that no one deserved to die for money, not even in criminal circles.
For Alicia Faye's family, the verdict brings a measure of justice but leaves many questions unanswered. Bernard Faye, the victim's father, stated after the trial that he would never forgive those responsible for this tragedy, while also affirming that he harbored no hatred. In the absence of the main defendant, the five days of hearings failed to establish with certainty the exact sequence of events or the motives that led to the murder of the young woman from Bordeaux.
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