The elderly neighbour accused of killing an 11-year-old British girl with a rifle in France has been pictured for the first time.
Dirk Raats, 71, faces spending the rest of his life behind bars after being charged with the murder of Solaine Thornton and the attempted murder of her parents in the tiny village of Saint Herbot.
Prosecutors said the little girl was playing on a swing with her eight-year-old sister Celeste when Raats, allegedly under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, opened fire through a hedge on Saturday evening.
It appears Solaine’s father Adrian, 52, and mother Rachael, 49, were the intended targets and were both injured.
Adrian’s condition is said to be critical while Rachael’s is stable. Celeste was the only family member to escape unscathed.
Raats is accused of barricading himself at his home following the incident, before giving himself up to police an hour later.
His wife Marlene Van Hoof, 69, surrendered herself soon after and was also arrested. She has since been released.
A row over building work on the Thornton’s property had gone on for several years, and left Raats ‘profoundly exasperated’ at a perceived invasion of privacy.
The former teacher and Dutch national was described as a recluse by neighbours, while French media said he was ‘like a character out of Asterix’ as he appeared before a judge in Brest yesterday.
The Thorntons are originally from Oldham, Greater Manchester, and moved to the Brittany region in 2019.
Solaine became a hugely popular pupil at Jean Jaurès College, where a ‘medical monitoring team’ is caring for her distraught classmates.
‘Feelings are very strong, and there is a huge amount of sadness,’ a college spokesman said.
‘There will be a minute’s silence on Tuesday, to enable students and staff to remember Solaine.’
Additional reporting from Peter Allen in France.
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