A Moroccan national, living illegally in France, is standing trial in the Gard Assize Court for the brutal stabbing deaths of his wife and sister-in-law in May 2023 in the town of Les Salles-du-Gardon.
During his testimony, 43-year-old Mohamed Ouhaddou insisted that one of the killings was accidental, claiming his wife “fell on the knife.” A psychiatric evaluation, however, revealed that the accused expressed no remorse and believed Islamic law should govern his actions rather than French justice.
Ouhaddou, who was under two deportation orders at the time of the murders, is accused of killing his 26-year-old estranged wife, Halima Zerhouni, and her 40-year-old sister, Fatima Zerhouni. Both women were stabbed multiple times, with the coroner recording 14 wounds on Fatima and three on Halima, including a deep slash to the throat.
According to Midi Libre, reporting from the trial, medical experts contradicted Ouhaddou’s testimony, insisting the nature of the wounds was inconsistent with an accidental fall.
In court on Monday, a key witness named Marina, a home-visit beautician, recounted the moments leading up to the attack. She was with the sisters in their apartment when the scene turned violent. “We were chatting like girlfriends until Mohamed came into the house,” she said. At the time, she was waxing Halima’s legs while Fatima and Ouhaddou argued in Arabic in the kitchen. Suddenly, Marina heard a scream. “I saw Halima and Mohamed face to face, he had a knife. I looked away.” When she turned back, Halima was lying in a pool of blood.
After the stabbings, Ouhaddou, forced Marina at knifepoint to drive him and his infant daughter to the police station in Alès. On the way, she asked him why he had done it. “They were stopping me from seeing my daughter,” he replied. “And I’m still missing two — the brother and the sister.”
The court heard that Halima suffered from multiple sclerosis and had difficulty walking. Ouhaddou told the court, “Fatima, I hit her. But Halima, it was an accident. She came at me with her walking stick and fell on the knife.” The court-appointed forensic expert rejected this explanation, stating, “You have to apply significant pressure to cause a wound two centimeters in diameter.”
Born in Morocco and having gone through three failed marriages, Ouhaddou met Halima in Cavaillon and, according to her family, seemed intent on marrying a French citizen despite his irregular immigration status. “He quickly created a perfect persona,” said Rachid, Halima’s brother. “He fooled us. He found a tolerant and respectful family.”
Fatima, the family testified, was the first to see through him. “She didn’t trust him,” said Amina, the surviving sister. “Halima told her he was psychologically abusive. He said our parents had given her to him because she was disabled. He destroyed her from the inside before destroying her from the outside.”
By the time of the killings, Halima had moved into a new apartment near her family. That day, Fatima reportedly told Mohamed he was no longer welcome at their home.
Psychiatrist Laurent Layet told the court that this moment may have triggered the attack. “He didn’t show any suffering or recognition of responsibility. He even questioned the legitimacy of the system, saying Islamic law should apply,” Layet said.
Mohamed Ouhaddou faces a possible life sentence.
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