The public prosecutor requested life imprisonment, with a 28-year security period, for Mounir Boutaa on Friday, March 22. He is accused of the murder of his wife, Chahinez Daoud, who was burned alive on May 4, 2021, outside her home in Mérignac. The tragedy, of unprecedented violence, deeply shocked public opinion. The man first shot the young woman before dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire.
A planned killing
Throughout the trial, the evidence presented supported the theory of premeditation. Mounir Boutaa had hidden at dawn in an unmarked van parked in front of his wife's home. This vehicle, recently acquired and equipped for surveillance without being seen, contained a can of gasoline, two lighters, and fabric transformed into a wick. These preparations, coupled with his surveillance throughout the day, draw the chilling outlines of a trap set for the victim. "He carried out what he had premeditated," insisted the public prosecutor.
Before the court, Mounir Boutaa denied any intention to kill, claiming he only wanted to "scare her." But psychiatric experts described him as a paranoid, extremely dangerous man, obsessed with the idea of an imaginary lover, and lacking empathy. Despite recognizing an impairment of his judgment, the magistrate asked that this not be taken into account in the sentence, citing persistent psychiatric and criminological dangerousness.
A victim of repeated violence, Chahinez Daoud lived under duress, deprived of her freedom, papers, and job. She had filed a complaint a month and a half before her death, a complaint that was poorly addressed by a police officer himself convicted of domestic violence. For her family, and numerous organizations mobilized all week outside the courthouse, this trial has become a symbol of femicide in France and the systemic failures in protecting female victims.
