The 2025 French Netflix documentary series, From Rock Star to Killer, or From Rockstar to Tueur: Le Cas Cantat, offers an intriguing perspective on a high-profile case that shocked French society in 2003. It focuses on the popular French musician and singer Bertrand Cantat, who is also a convicted murderer. While From Rock Star to Killer begins with a subtle hint that Cantat didn't receive the punishment he truly deserved, the three-part documentary series successfully establishes in the end how society and the law remain incapable of protecting women and valuing their lives.
From Rock Star to Killer begins with the events of July 26, 2003, when a woman named Marie Trintignant was hospitalized in Vilnius, Lithuania, with numerous horrific injuries. As doctors had to immediately induce a coma, people in France were shocked to learn of this incident, as Marie was not an ordinary woman, but a popular actress in France.
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Marie Trintignant came from a family closely linked to cinema and with a strong influence on the country's film industry. Her father, Jean-Louis Trintignant, had been an actor and had worked with renowned filmmakers such as Truffaut, Rohmer, and Kieslowski. Her mother, Nadine Marquand, was a film director by profession, and in fact, it was because of a film Nadine was shooting that Marie was in Lithuania at the time, playing the lead role in her mother's project. Marie had already acted in numerous films by then and was an established and beloved figure among the public.
But what made her situation even more shocking and unbelievable for the French public was that another extremely popular celebrity, singer and rock star Bertrand Cantat, was also involved in the affair. It was reported that Marie and Bertrand had been staying in their hotel room since their arrival in Lithuania, and that something serious had happened there, after which Marie had to be hospitalized. As expected, the police detained Bertrand Cantat for questioning, and it became clear that he was responsible for Marie's condition. In his first official statement to the police, Bertrand revealed that he and Marie had been in a relationship for some time and that, in the early hours of the 26th, they had a heated argument in the hotel room, which escalated into a physical altercation. He stated that Marie first pushed him, after which he slapped her repeatedly and then pushed her back, causing her to fall backward and hit her head on the room's metal ventilation grill.
While Bertrand claimed that Marie had injured her head because of the grill, his statement changed a few days later when the situation worsened. After the best hospital and medical team in Lithuania were unable to treat Marie's severe injuries, she was flown back to France in a desperate attempt to save her life. But French doctors were also unable to help her, and Marie Trintignant died on August 1, 2003, due to brain swelling caused by her injuries. As family, friends, and fans mourned her death, authorities performed an autopsy, and Bertrand was declared the prime suspect in her murder. The autopsy made it clear that the woman could not have suffered the horrific brain injuries from a single fall, but had apparently been violently beaten to death. It was then that Bertrand changed his story, stating that there was no fall and that all of his deceased girlfriend's injuries were caused by him.
Investigators later created a complete timeline of events, and it was revealed that Bertrand and Marie had a terrible argument throughout the night, even clashing during a party for a departing actor. The reason for this fight was a text message Marie received from her ex-husband, Samuel Benchetrit, as Bertrand believed it suggested Marie still had a romantic interest in Samuel. The fight got so out of hand that the on-set assistant director, Andrius Leliuga, had to escort the couple to their hotel to ensure they didn't hurt each other physically. However, after Andrius left, Bertrand brought up the same topic again, which enraged Marie, and the fight escalated into blows.
What was strange and extremely suspicious was that Bertrand didn't call an ambulance or anyone for help, even when Marie was completely unconscious and bleeding profusely from her head. Instead, he carried her to the bed and wiped the blood from her face, admitting during the investigation that he didn't realize the severity of his girlfriend's injuries at the time. Although the French police considered this very odd, the Lithuanian police didn't press charges for negligence.
The strangest and most suspicious thing was Bertrand's failure to call an ambulance or anyone for help, even when Marie was completely unconscious and bleeding profusely from her head. Instead, he carried her to the bed and wiped the blood from her face. During the investigation, he admitted that he didn't realize the severity of his girlfriend's injuries at the time. Although the French police considered this very odd, the Lithuanian police did not press charges of negligence against Bertrand, and he was not held responsible for this indifference, intentional or not. Bertrand fell asleep next to his girlfriend, whom he had just fatally beaten, and called for help about six or seven hours later, when Marie was still unresponsive. He called Vincent, Marie's brother, who was also in the city due to the shooting, and it was Vincent who took the unconscious woman to the hospital. Once the exact details of the incident were revealed to investigators and the public, Bertrand Cantat had no choice but to avoid jail time, as it was clear he had taken his girlfriend's life. His lawyers therefore began focusing on reducing the severity of the sentence, and to achieve this, they targeted Marie Trintignant. Marie had struggled with her love life, having had four different partners, each of whom gave her a child. As a result, she was quickly labeled a problematic woman with loose morals, despite having died a few days earlier. During the police interrogation, Bertrand made no secret of his jealousy when Marie received a message from her husband, but he presented the matter in a way that would elicit public sympathy.
Bertrand always tried to show that he had completely cut all ties with his ex-wife, Krisztina Rady, and the children they had together in order to fully dedicate himself to his relationship with Marie. With these statements, he clearly wanted to create a divide between himself and his deceased girlfriend, to insinuate that Marie wasn't as genuine as he was in their relationship. Bertrand never attempted to deny his involvement in the murder and admitted his guilt, but he also attempted to show that his actions on that fateful night were motivated by his intense love and passion for his girlfriend, not hatred toward her for being in contact with her husband. His lawyers also succeeded in proving this point, and the entire affair was suddenly perceived as a crime of passion by the lawyers and, in particular, by the media, much to the frustration of Marie's friends and family.
As the trial began, Bertrand's ex-wife, Krisztina, became one of the most crucial witnesses, as his fate essentially depended on what she said in court. But Krisztina came to Bertrand's defense, stating that he had never criticized her during their long relationship, and that he was not abusive or toxic in any way. Although it was later revealed that members of Bertrand's gang, Noir Desir, had advised Krisztina to assist the man in his trial, her statements ultimately helped authorities make their decision. Bertrand Cantat was charged with murder with indirect intent and sentenced to eight years in prison, compared to the maximum of 15 years he would have received if the murder had not been ruled a crime of passion.
Bertrand spent only four years behind bars, after being released for good behavior after serving half of his sentence. The judge who ruled in favor of his release states in "From Rock Star to Murderer" that his main motive was to allow Bertrand to reunite with his divorced wife and children so the family could reconcile. Bertrand eventually returned to Krisztina, as it was clear that she still loved him and wanted to help him recover. However, it all ended miserably for her, as Krisztina Rady was found dead in January 2010, having hanged herself and taken her own life.
Krisztina had also left a suicide note, and although Bertrand's name was mentioned in it, possibly in a negative light, she didn't blame her partner for her decision. It was one of her sons who found Krisztina hanging from the ceiling of her bedroom, and Bertrand displayed an almost similar indifference in his reaction. Bertrand, who was in the house the whole time, told the boy that his mother must be playing a trick on him. Based on certain clues, primarily voicemails Krisztina left for her estranged parents a few days before her death, it was quite evident that Bertrand had been torturing her physically and mentally, causing her to feel completely trapped in her situation. However, the French police didn't take any of this seriously, and ultimately no charges were filed against Bertrand.
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