Musician Bertrand Cantat, who has already served jail time for the death of actress Marie Trintignant, is to face a new police investigation over the suicide of his former wife – following the release of a Netflix documentary series about the singer.
Cantat was imprisoned over the killing of Trintignant in a Vilnius hotel room in 2003, and released in 2007 after serving just over half of his eight-year sentence.
In March this year, the former Noir Désir lead singer, who is now 61, was the subject of a three-part Netflix documentary, The Cantat Case.
After watching the film, prosecutors in Cantat's hometown of Bordeaux said they were looking into "potential acts of intentional violence" against his ex-wife Krisztina Rady, who was found hanged at her home in 2010.
In a statement released on Thursday, prosecutors said they will look into "several claims and testimonies not included" in four previous investigations into the circumstances of Rady's death, all of which were closed without charges being filed.
French rocker faces investigation over ex-wife's death
A 'violent argument'
In The Cantat Case series, a nurse claims that Rady visited a hospital in Bordeaux "following an altercation with her partner, a violent argument" which had resulted in a "scalp detachment and bruises".
The nurse said he consulted Rady's hospital file out of "curiosity", in the archives of a hospital where he was a temporary worker.
Rady, a Hungarian-born former interpreter, had also left a message on her parents' answering machine before her death in which she referred to violence by Cantat, the documentary series and a 2013 book written by two French journalists claim.
Cantat's lawyer Antonin Levy said that he was not aware of the reopening of an investigation into the case when contacted by French news agency AFP.
Concerts cancelled
After being released from jail in 2007, the singer worked on a new album and toured with the band Detroit.
His case sparked fierce debate, with many fans prepared to pardon his criminal record, as someone who had served out his punishment. But feminist groups demonstrated outside his concerts, saying that he has never apologised over Trintignant's death, causing many of the gigs to be cancelled.
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The release of his first solo album Amor Fati in 2017 sparked more controversy in the midst of the #MeToo movement, which saw women around the world speak out about domestic violence and sexual assault.
(with AFP)
