French police hope for autopsy clues in live-streamed death probe

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Nice, France -- French police are hoping an autopsy will help shed light on a 46-year-old man’s death during a live-streamed event that a government minister said involved scenes of “absolute horror,” a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Raphael Graven, known online as “Jean Pormanove” or “JP,” died on Monday during the event, with internet users saying the footage showed him lying under a sheet while another man threw a plastic bottle at him.

Graven had built a following of hundreds of thousands on streaming platform Kick by putting on live shows in which he was abused or humiliated.

Police had been questioning witnesses and seizing evidence, including videos, prosecutor Damien Martinelli said in a statement.

“Several interviews with people present at the time of his death have been conducted without yielding leads as to its causes,” Martinelli said, adding that the autopsy would be carried out on Thursday.

Prosecutors said he died Monday in the village of Contes near the southern city of Nice.

“The death of Jean Pormanove and the violence he suffered are an absolute horror,” said Clara Chappaz, French junior minister for digital matters.

Internet users said the video, which was widely shared afterwards, showed Graven lying motionless under a bed cover.

One of two men in the room with him, known by pseudonyms NarutoVie and Safine, threw a plastic water bottle in his direction.

NarutoVie and Safine had already been questioned by police in a separate inquiry in January over claims they were mistreating vulnerable people in online events to generate payments from viewers.

Graven was interviewed as a potential victim at the time but denied having suffered any violence, Martinelli said.

Instead, Graven and another potential victim told police the events “were staged and aimed at creating a buzz and earning money,” he said.

Graven said he made “sums of 6,000 euros” generated by his company thanks to contracts with streaming platforms.

“Both said they were never injured, were free to come and go, and to make their own decisions,” the prosecutor said. They also declined a medical and psychiatric examination.

Australian platform Kick said Wednesday all co-streamers involved in the event had been banned from the platform pending the outcome of the investigation.

It said it was also running a “complete re-evaluation” of its French content.

The platform is seen as having less stringent user terms than those of its rival, the better-known Twitch streaming service.

AFP