The girlfriend and the father of a Caerphilly man shot dead by a hunter in the French Alps have defended him after he was accused of raping his sister.
Marc Sutton, 34, was cycling down a mountain in the Montriond area at around 6pm on Saturday, October 13 when he passed a group of hunters.
French prosecutors believe he was hit by a stray bullet from the group in an accidental shooting. A 22-year-old man was taken to hospital for shock and is being investigated on suspicion of aggravated manslaughter.
Following tributes to Mr Sutton on social media, his sister, Katie Toghill, told The Sun newspaper that he had repeatedly raped her her as a child.
Mr Sutton’s girlfriend, 35-year-old Jo Watts, who ran the Wild Beats Kitchen restaurant with him, has defended him.
She said: “Of course I’m shattered by his death, his life taken so violently by a hunter while he innocently rode his bike on a popular track.
“Now to add to all that I’m devastated people have chosen now to make these allegations – nothing to do with how he died – when Marc is not here to defend himself.”
The Sun also reported that he was jailed for six months for punching a girlfriend and they also spoke to a previous partner of his who labelled him a “psycho”.
Ms Toghill, a 32-year-old mother-of-one, told the newspaper she waived her right to anonymity and said her brother had raped her about 100 times.
She said: “He would take advantage of me in his bedroom while mum was downstairs.
“He threatened that if I told anyone he would kill me, everyone would hate me, and no-one would believe me.”
Their mother, Katrina, told the paper he did not deny the allegations when Ms Toghill later shared them.
Mr Sutton’s father, John Sutton said a family feud was to blame for the accusations.
He said: “I’m devastated they would try to blacken his name now that he’s dead, it’s hard enough to come to terms with how he died.”