France: Netflix series prompts reopening of case into Cantat's wife's death

Rome, July 24 (LaPresse) – Fifteen years after the death of Krisztina Rády, ex-wife of Noir Désir singer Bertrand Cantat, the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office has reopened the case following a Netflix documentary on the affair. According to French broadcaster RTL, the case was initially closed as a suicide, but investigators are now examining it as a case of "intentional violence" by Cantat. Rády died in 2010, and several investigations had been launched since then to determine the cause of death, all of which were closed, the latest in 2018. Now, Bordeaux prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul has decided to gather all previously collected materials for a new preliminary inquiry. Bertrand Cantat, who was already convicted in 2003 to eight years in prison for the murder of Marie Trintignant, was at his ex-wife's house the night she died. As the investigation resumes, key figures will be questioned. The reopening follows the release of the Netflix documentary Le cas Cantat (The Cantat Case), which has been available since the end of March. "A three-part documentary titled 'Le cas Cantat' aired on Netflix. Watching it led me to revisit the file on the investigation into the causes of Krisztina Rády’s death," the prosecutor stated. "That review led me to uncover three other proceedings opened in 2013, 2014, and 2018, all of which were closed without further action. After examining the file, and noting that the documentary included various statements and testimonies not present in the four previous cases, I decided to reopen this case of intentional violence earlier this month."