WMG / Passage to Marseille

Garou's sweetheart died by a freak accident.

Even with Values Dissonance regarding domestic abuse, it's pretty odd that no one in the entire movie ever reacts to or questions Garou "killing his sweetheart in a lover's quarrel." Garou doesn't come off as particularly more agressive or malicious than the other convicts. He is a mechanic. So a plausible explanation is that he was not a violent person, but accidentally caused his lover's death in his garage during a heated argument, and was convicted of manslaughter. This was clarified to the other convicts and to Captain Freycinet offscreen.