Lesbian gang
leader gets 28 years for murder

The head of a lesbian gang in France has been handed a 28-year prison sentence in the brutal murder of a country baker, London's Daily Telegraph reports. Brandishing a hunting rifle, Magali Rossi burst into a shop owned by Sylvain Betrix, 22, and shot him dead as he rushed to help his wife. Rossi got away with only about $35, the newspaper reported. A lawyer for the prosecution described Betrix as a hard worker, compared with Rossi and her fellow gang members, "who don't work and don't especially look for work." He told the court in the town of St. Etienne, "These are two kinds of France colliding with each other. It is for you to say which France we ought to protect and which one we must repress.'' According to the newspaper, Rossi, 34, lived with her girlfriend, her girlfriend's daughter, and a third woman on unemployment benefits. The prosecution had sought a 25-year sentence for Rossi for theft aggravated by violence leading to death. On the day of the crime, Rossi's girlfriend waited in their car outside the baker's shop as Rossi entered. Betrix, who was resting, heard the terrified cries of his wife, Virginie, and tried to intervene. Wearing only underwear and socks, he confronted Rossi, but she shot him in the throat, the newspaper reported. "I know you cannot forgive me, but I ask for your pardon nonetheless,'' Rossi told the baker's widow. "I am fully aware of what I have done.'' Staring directly at Rossi, Virginie Betrix replied, "She regrets nothing. She killed my husband like a dog.'' (Advocate.com)