French actress Marie Trintignant

Bertrand Cantat

Paris, Aug. 1 (Reuters): French actress Marie Trintignant died today in a French hospital, a day after being flown back from Lithuania in a coma after sustaining severe head injuries during an incident at her hotel in Vilnius.

Trintignant, 41-year-old daughter of movie star Jean-Louis Trintignant, died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on the eastern edge of Paris, her doctor said. “She died this morning from the consequences of a brain oedema, despite the intensive care which has been administered since her arrival at the Hartmann clinic,” Stephane Delajoux said.

The actress’ family has filed a complaint in a Paris court against her boyfriend Bertrand Cantat, lead singer with top French rock band Noir Desir, alleging premeditated grievous bodily harm and failure to help a person at risk. French prosecutors said today they would widen the probe to include the criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter. The judge in charge of the case has ordered an autopsy, which was expected to be carried out later today.

Cantat, 39, appeared in court in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius yesterday and was placed under formal arrest for two weeks while police investigate. He told the court that Trintignant’s injuries were accidental and apologised to her family, his lawyer Virginijus Papirtis said. Cantat was today transferred from his cell in Vilnius to a prison hospital because of fears for his mental health. He had been admitted to hospital shortly after Trintignant to be treated for alcohol poisoning and a suspected overdose of pills or drugs.

The affair has shocked France. President Jacques Chirac paid homage to the actress, who was known for playing fragile characters with an erotic edge. “She served her art with beauty, sensitivity and intelligence, touching the hearts of the public through cinema and television alike,” he said.

Trintignant starred alongside Academy Award winner Adrien Brody in Harrison’s Flowers, set in war-torn Yugoslavia.