Man stabbed neighbor to death because her loud noise distracted him while playing Scrabble

A French man is accused of stabbing his neighbor to death after the victim’s music ‘disturbed’ a game of Scrabble.

‘Benjamin C’, 41, is accused of killing victim Romane, 21, a student who lived downstairs, after he invited a small group of friends over to chat and play cards at the end of the first closures in Lyon on May 16, 2020.

Concerned about the noise, which according to the police and neighbors was not very loud, Benjamin interrupted his game to go knock on the door.

It is believed that he pulled out a knife and stabbed Romane in the femoral artery, leaving her bleeding to the ground.

Romane died at the hospital two days later.

When the man entered the apartment brandishing a knife, Romane told him ‘you’re crazy’.

His friends, who had joined Romane when France opened up from its initial strict lockdowns, shooed the man out of the apartment and threatened him with a stool.

Officers arrived to find that the man had calmly resumed his online game of Scrabble.

Lawyers said the defendant was upset by the noise because his poor eyesight had made his hearing more sensitive.

He coldly asked the police ‘how is she?’ When she is prompted.

The defendant pleads not guilty to intentional murder as he “did not realize he had hurt anyone” due to his eyesight.

Lawyers claim that he was only trying to scare the victim.

Court psychologists said the man did not suffer from a mental illness that could cause such a reaction, but rather had expelled a buildup of tension.

Lawyers say the man was trying to scare the victim and did not realize he had killed her.

The accused claims he had sent several letters to the building’s trustee, demanding that his younger neighbor’s lease be terminated and even offering to pay to expedite the process.

He said he had called four times to push the process through with no progress before blowing up.