French rock star awaits verdict

Cantat said he was deeply sorry for Trintignant's death

Judges are considering their verdict in the trial of French rock star Bertrand Cantat for the murder of his actress girlfriend Marie Trintignant.

The court, in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, is due to deliver its decision on the case next Monday.

On Monday Mr Cantat made a last plea, saying he had caused Ms Trintignant's death but was deeply sorry.

Prosecutors have demanded a nine-year jail sentence, saying that he is guilty of murder.

I know that I can only ask forgiveness as I have done since the beginning - to ask for forgiveness from the depths of my heart Bertrand Cantat

He was fully aware of his actions and must have known how serious they would be, they said.

Mr Cantat's lawyers are arguing he should serve no more than six years on the grounds that he did not intend to kill her.

Ms Trintignant, daughter of veteran French movie star Jean-Louis Trintignant, died in hospital from brain injuries five days after the incident.

French medical experts say she had been hit in the face and repeatedly shaken, but Mr Cantat says he only slapped her and she sustained the serious injuries in a fall.

Appeal to family

Monday's court session was limited to Mr Cantat's 10-minute final statement before the verdict, according to Lithuanian law.

"I know that I can do nothing," he said. "I know that I can only ask forgiveness as I have done since the beginning - to ask for forgiveness from the depths of my heart."

He made an appeal to Ms Trintignant's family.

"I also think each second of Marie's family, her children, because I love them... I know what sort of despair I've thrown them into... I hope that one day I will be heard," he said.

But Nadine Trintignant, the victim's mother, has rejected all of Mr Cantat's explanations, and labelled him a "murderer" in a book she wrote about her daughter.

She refused to make any comment as she left the court.

Mr Cantat, lead singer with the French rock band Noir Desir, was in Lithuania with Ms Trintignant while she was making a television film with her mother.