10 years for deathly drunken row

Appearing at the Draguignan court on Thursday 5th January, 38-year-old school cafteria worker Virginie Delannoy was convicted of the manslaughter of her husband, Lawrence Lounis.

She will serve ten years in prison for the crime, which took place on 29th May 2010 at their home in Draguignan. Delannoy, who was found to have had an alcohol reading of 1.68, attacked her husband with a bottle of rosé wine, repeatedly hitting him over the head. Police later discovered his lifeless body in a pool of blood.

The woman argued that the fight broke out as an act of self-defense after Mr Lounis turned violent. In a moment of fury, she says she reacted by hitting him with the wine bottle. Neighbours have revealed that alcohol-fuelled rows were a frequent occurrence between the couple.

An autopsy revealed that Lawrence Lounis died from multiple skull fractures caused by at least three blows to his head. He is said to have had an alcohol reading of 5 grammes per litre in his bloodstream at the time of his death.

Virginie Delannoy has emerged as a woman marked by a painful past, having stayed in psychiatric units and attempting suicide several times. Speaking to the court yesterday, she issued an apology to Lounis’ family, saying "Even if this will not bring him back, I loved my husband.”

Louise Kirby