Killer Rock Singer Going "Home"

French rock star Bertrand Cantat / Noir Désir - Black Desire /, convicted in Lithuania of murdering his girlfriend actress Marie Trintignant during a Vilnius hotel room brawl, may be handed over to French authorities this month, several months earlier than expected, officials said on Thursday.

Lithuania informed French authorities last month that it approved Cantat's request to serve his sentence in France. French authorities this week said they were willing to accept the singer, the Lithuanian ministry said.

Trintignant, the daughter of veteran French film star Jean-Louis Trintignant, had been in Vilnius to shoot a television movie about the French writer Colette, directed by her mother Nadine, when she was killed.

The 40-year-old rocker, who had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, told the court he slapped Trintignant during a heated row, which caused her to fall and hit her head on a radiator. He said he had not intended to kill her.

Under French law, Cantat's lawyers can apply for a conditional release after he has served half his sentence.