The Verdict

A Lithuanian court found French rock star Bertrand Cantat guilty on Monday of manslaughter for the beating death of his movie-star girlfriend and sentenced him to eight years in prison in a case that has horrified many in France. The 40-year-old lead singer of one of France's most popular bands, Noir Desir (Black Desire), was convicted in the killing 41-year-old French actress Marie Trintignant in a hotel room in Lithuania's capital last July. The three-judge panel at the ViTlnius District Court could have handed Cantat a maximum 15-year sentence. Relatives of Trintignant and Cantat refused to comment after the ruling. The love affair between the two artists was once the focus of public fascination in France, where fans were shaken by the killing in Vilnius. Trintignant, who often played brutalized women in more than 30 French- and several English-language films, was in Lithuania making a film when the two had the fatal dispute in their hotel.