Trintignant death: lover charged

Police in Lithuania have charged the rock star boyfriend of Marie Trintignant, the French film star who died after falling into a coma in a hotel room, with her murder.

Bertrand Cantat, 39-year-old singer with Noir Désir and one of France's most popular lyricists, was arrested in Vilnius shortly after Ms Trintignant was taken to hospital on July 27.

She appeared to have suffered a heavy beating.

Mr Cantat has already denied murder, saying the death was a "tragic accident". It has been alleged that he waited five hours before raising the alarm.

He was taken to hospital shortly after his lover, with acute alcohol poisoning and a suspected overdose of prescription drugs.

Ms Trintignant, 41, was brought back to France and remained in a coma until August 1.

Her death brought tributes from across France.

Lithuanian authorities have denied requests for Mr Cantat to be extradited to France as the two states do not have an extradition agreement.

Paris yesterday denied any talk of diplomatic tension with Vilnius over the issue.

Ms Trintignant had been in Lithuania for two months shooting a film with her mother, Nadine, a director, and staying at the Domino Plaza Hotel, with Mr Cantat, her 17-year-old son Roman, and the film crew.

Local media reported signs of a struggle in the hotel room, with vases broken and furniture disturbed.

Vilnius police said yesterday they had changed the charges against Cantat of "doing grave bodily harm" to those of murder.

The Vilnius district prosecutor's office said it had changed the charges after receiving Ms Trintignant's death certificate, which stated that the cause of death was a brain oedema - swelling from a build-up of fluid.