Father Drugs Son's Tennis Opponents, Killing One

Wow. Talk about a competitive dad:

PARIS -- Just how far parents might go to help children reach the sporting elite has become shockingly evident in France with the arrest of a man on suspicion he spiked the drinks of his 16-year-old son's tennis rivals with a prescription drug.

One player died in a car wreck after apparently falling asleep while driving, and another was hospitalized for two days, investigators say. Police are trying to determine whether there were other victims.

Christophe Fauviau, 43, a retired soldier from Tercis-les-Bains in southwestern France, was arrested Saturday and placed under judicial investigation to determine whether he should be formally charged with unintentionally causing a death by administering toxic substances.

He is suspected of giving the anti-anxiety drug Temesta, which can cause drowsiness, to several opponents of his son, Maxime.

...

Suspicions about Christophe Fauviau arose at a tennis tournament June 28 when a player reported seeing Fauviau tamper with the player's water bottle just before his semifinal match with Maxime, police say. The player turned the bottle over to police, who say it tested positive for Temesta.

The next day, Maxime defeated another player in the tournament's final match. That player fell ill shortly after the match and required a two-day hospital stay, Capt. Christian Flagella, a police investigator in the town of Dax, said Thursday.

In another tournament July 3, Maxime defeated 25-year-old Alexandre Lagardere, a school teacher. Lagardere complained of fatigue after the match and took a nap at a friend's house near the stadium. He slept for two hours, then was driving home when he crashed his car and died.

Police believe Lagardere fell asleep at the wheel. Toxicology tests showed traces of Temesta in his system, which investigators suspect was administered by Fauviau.

After reading this, I have only one question:

Dad, why didn't you love me this much?

posted by Ace at 01:50 PM

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