The headmaster of a secondary school in Lisieux (northwest France) was found dead in suspicious circumstances on Friday morning on the school grounds, local sources have revealed.
“I’m sure he was attacked,” Jeanne Mailhos Vitel, the wife of Stéphane Vitel, principal of the Pierre-Simon de Laplace secondary school, told BFM, claiming that she had seen a car “speed off” before entering the school.
Vitel was on his way to the holidays early on Friday morning with his family when he was informed that the intruder alarm had been triggered at his college. Turning back towards the school, he left his wife and children in the car as he went to investigate, local news site France Bleu Normandie reports.
“We thought it took a long time. My daughter was getting impatient she went to look and she found him sprawled on the floor… so she came out screaming 'He’s on the floor he’s on the floor!',” his wife said on BFM. They were unable to revive him. “I’m sure he was assaulted, a blow to the head I think.”
An autopsy will be carried out quickly to clarify the causes of death, the Lisieux public prosecutor’s office told AFP. The Caen judicial police have been called in.
🟥 Mort suspecte de Stéphane Vitel, principal d'un collège à Lisieux ⤵️#cnews #hdpros #lisieux #insécurité #StephaneVitel pic.twitter.com/NFqKW25Wzk
— Fred Marseille (@Fred_Marseille) August 12, 2023
Paying homage to the deceased principal, Lisieux mayor Sébastien Leclerc said that Vitel was “committed, passionate and close to his pupils, teachers, elected representatives and associations.”
College students turned out in front of the school on Friday to pay tribute to their headmaster. “I share the grief and emotion of the teachers, students and staff who are mourning the death of Stéphane Vitel (…) An investigation is underway. My thoughts and my full support go out to his family and colleagues”, wrote French Education Minister Gabriel Attal on X, formerly Twitter.
