On the first day of his trial for killing Marie Trintignant, French rock star Bertrand Cantat on Tuesday admitted that he tussled with his movie-star girlfriend in a Vilnius hotel last July, but insisted her death was a tragic accident.
“We loved each other and our love was growing,” the 40-year-old told a three-judge panel in testimony lasting over an hour at the District Court in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital.
Cantat did not enter a clear not guilty plea to the manslaughter charge, something that is not required in the Baltic state’s judicial system.
He faces a maximum 15-year jail sentence, with the judges expected to hand down a verdict and sentence this week.