Three murderers of a student who wanted to steal his bitcoins were sentenced to 25 and 30 years in prison

Drugged before the incident, the young man from Tours was stabbed 46 times before being thrown into the water of a pond in Plancher-Bas (Haute-Saône).

Attempted kidnappings motivated by cryptocurrencies have made headlines in recent weeks, but this time it was a murder. Three men were sentenced to 25 to 30 years in prison for murdering a computer science student in order to steal his cryptocurrencies in 2021 , following their trial in Vesoul on Friday, June 13.

Mickaël Calabrese, 36, who instigated the murder of his lover Simon Arthuis, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with two-thirds security. His two co-defendants, Dylan Hoguin, 26, and Benjamin Ardoin, 22, received 25 years in prison. Jonathan Calabrese, the twin brother of the instigator, was sentenced to five years in prison for failing to prevent the murder and claims he was unaware of the murderous plan.

The lifeless body of the 19-year-old student was discovered submerged in a pond. Drugged before the incident, the young man from Tours had received 46 stab wounds to the throat and upper body, and was thrown, still dying, into the water on the night of August 17-18, 2021, in Plancher-Bas (Haute-Saône). The three main defendants admitted to having planned the assassination as early as May 2021 to steal his cryptocurrencies, estimated at nearly €200,000. However, during the trial, they all denied being the perpetrators of the stabbings, accusing each other. The convicts have ten days to appeal.