A French farmer went on trial on Tuesday for murdering a man he thought was stealing his prized truffles in a case that has lifted the lid on a “black diamond war” over one of the world’s most expensive delicacies.
Laurent Rambaud, 37, faces a maximum 30 years in prison for killing Ernest Pardo, 42, a hospital worker who he blasted twice with a pump-action shotgun after surprising him digging in his truffle patch with a dog in December, 2010.
The shooting took place just before Christmas in Grignan, a small town in the Rhône valley near one of France’s largest truffle markets, at a time when the knobbly fungi can fetch up to €1,000 (£700) a piece.
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