A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his in-laws in the Var region of France. The court of assizes in the Var delivered the sentence on Friday after a week-long trial in Draguignan. The jury also imposed a security period of 22 years, which was longer than the 20 years requested by the prosecution. The victims, Patrick and Marie-Laure Lauro, owned Domaine des sources, a property in Tourves that was set to host a wedding on July 3, 2021. The property featured a reception hall, an outdoor terrace, horses, a swimming pool, and guest rooms. However, when the wedding procession arrived, the property was locked, and a guest found bloodstains after climbing over the gate. The couple's son and gendarmes entered the house and discovered Patrick in the entrance hall and Marie-Laure in the bathroom, both shot multiple times in the head or chest. After more than four months of investigation, the gendarmes arrested Anthony Barotin, the couple's son-in-law. He was deeply in debt and had conflicts with his in-laws. He had tried to speed up the succession process after their deaths and had researched expatriation. During his detention, he gave detailed confessions, stating he went to his in-laws' house on the evening of July 2, armed with a weapon he had purchased from a friend. He cut off the electricity meter, forcing Patrick Lauro to go outside to reset it. He used this opportunity to enter the house, kill Marie-Laure in the shower, and then shoot Patrick as he returned to the house. The electricity was indeed cut off at 10:49 p.m., and the weapon was later found in a lake, where Barotin claimed he had thrown it. However, in November 2023, Barotin retracted his confession, claiming he had acted with two masked men under the threat of an ex-police officer connected to Patrick Lauro through several driving school companies. No evidence from the investigation supports this claim. Throughout the trial, Barotin maintained this version, even requesting the investigating judge to testify, arguing the judge had not looked into the matter thoroughly enough. However, various testimonies painted a picture of a man overwhelmed by debt and growing hostility from his in-laws, particularly after he had violently beaten his eldest son. Loïc Lauro, the son of the victims, called Barotin "a liar, a manipulator, a profiteer," criticizing the apparent coldness of his former brother-in-law. He said Barotin's only regret was being caught.