Although the charges were dropped, Jean-Marie Villemin believed his cousin Bernard Laroche was responsible for his son's abduction and murder. But one thing was certain: The Crow hated Jean-Marie. All the mistakes in an investigation that could have been made have been made here., Henri-Rene Garaud, Villemins lawyer and one of Frances most respected litigators, added: The institutions only function if the people in them function. November 20, 2019. He also was a Pulitzer Prize juror in international reporting in 2014 and subsequently chaired four Pulitzer juries Public Service in 2015, International Reporting in 2020, Explanatory Reporting in 2021 and Illustrated Reporting and Commentary in 2022. But Judge Olivier Ruyssen, in a rare departure for French justice, has turned this trial into a freewheeling public investigation into laffaire Gregory.. Four hours later, the authorities found 4-year-old Gregory Villemin, the only son of the little boss, in the chilly waters of the Vologne River. And they never invite me to their house on Sundays.. Lors du procs de Jean-Marie Villemin suite lassassinat de Bernard Laroche, les lgistes et les experts seront amens sexprimer sur les causes de la mort de Grgory et sur les rsultats de lautopsie. Gregory was lively, tender, Jean-Marie said, pausing periodically to sob before collecting himself. Memorial ID. The charges against her were later dropped. [4], On 14 June 2017, based on new evidence, three people were arrested: Grgory's great-aunt and great-uncle, as well as an auntthe widow of Michel, who died in 2010. In 2009, Reuters reported that French detectives collected DNA samples from some original evidence. The ordinarily strait-laced defendant delivered a tearful monologue of grief and anger, saying he decided to kill Laroche after visiting Gregorys grave. [16] This testing too proved inconclusive. The premise revolves around the murder of 4-year-old Grgory Villemin in 1984. Dijon prosecutor Thierry Pocquet du Haut-Juss said (viaThe Guardian), "New interviews have taken place in the last few weeks. [13] She reportedly collapsed and miscarried, losing one of the twins she was carrying shortly after being questioned by authorities. He died three years after his wife Monique Villemin, at the start of the pandemic in 2020. He knew how they shunned a relative born out of wedlock. Des tmoignages de professionnels du milieu, Un mot de passe va vous tre envoy par mail. Thus, the child would have to be unconscious before going into the river. Les deux mdecins lgistes sont le Dr De Ren et le Dr Pagel. The police clamped down immediately, and it was not long before Murielle admitted that Laroche had picked her up from school that day. A 2018 committee decided that her detention in 1984 was unconstitutional. He was the child king. Gregory Villemin was only four years old when he was abducted from his front garden. His story for the Los Angeles Times magazine on the AIDS epidemic in Africa won the SPJ Distinguished Service Award for Foreign Correspondence. In 2004 French authorities are ordered to pay each of Gregory's parents 35,000 euros ($42,000) in damages. The child wore a blue anorak. Guest on the set of It starts today, the Villemin couples lawyer, Me Marie-Christine Chastant-Morand confided in another tragedy that affected the family. Lautopsie ne permettra pas de rpondre aux nombreuses questions qui se sont poses sur le dcs de Grgory : For more than 30 years, the French have been passionate about this affair which mixes tragedy with mystery. It should be important to note here that the investigation branched out to consider the possibility that Gregory Villemin was killed in his own home before being dumped in the river. Hours later, police removed his body from the River Vologne. Gregory Villemin, a 4-year-old boy, was found dead in October 1984 with his feet and hands bound in the Vologne river, near his home in a village in eastern France. His body was later found in the Vologne river to the horror of his parents. Cette constatation a t faite sur les prlvements effectus sur les cinq lobes des poumons. Shortly following Laroche's release, Jean-Marie shot and killed Laroche with his hunting rifle. She agrees with Jean-Maries lawyer that the defendant is not a killer. Surprisingly, Lambert maintained to his last day that Laroche was indeed innocent. It will take eight years for Villemin to be cleared of all wrongdoing. On en trouve dailleurs des milliers dans une seule goutte deau de rivire. He was near us, that is certain, said Albert Villemin, patriarch of the clan, an extended family of factory workers scattered among the deceptively quiet villages of the Vosges Mountains. A day later she recants her statement. The couple, top right, reject an . Over the years, the case has turned into a media circus with some promising suspects and bizarre leads. Police think they have cracked the case when, after initially backing Laroche, Bolle changes her story and says she witnessed the kidnapping. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. 766 Alexander Road Marcel and Jacqueline Jacob had been indicted with Murielle Bolle in June 2017 for "kidnapping and kidnapping followed by death". Lautopsie se droule le 17 octobre Nancy en prsence du juge dinstruction, le juge Lambert, de deux gendarmes et de deux mdecins lgistes. When Judge Simon took over the case from Lambert, he rightly surmised that for Gregory to have been thrown into the river, he would have put up some sort of a struggle. Weeks earlier new criminal analysis software called Anacrim had showed "chronological inconsistencies" in various testimonies. In the fall of 1984, when the body of the 4-year-old boy was found bound hand and foot in the cold waters of Vologne (Vosges), the police accused Bernard Laroche, cousin of Grgorys father, Jean-Marie Villemin of murdered the boy. It will take eight years for Villemin to be cleared of all wrongdoing. One of Jean-Maries cousins, he had grown up playing with Jean-Marie, but the two had gradually grown apart. Weeks earlier new criminal analysis software called Anacrim had showed "chronological inconsistencies" in various testimonies. DNA expertise in progress in the case of little Grgory This affair began in 1983, a year before the murder of young Grgory Villemin. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Grgory Villemin (130245018)? For Jean-Marie, life was going rather well. However, there have been some discrepancies in the discovery of his body. Death 16 OCT 1984 - Lpanges-sur-Vologne (88600), 88266, Vosges, France. [5], The murder and investigation have been the subject of several documentary series including The Curse of the Vologne (France 3 2018) and Who Killed Little Gregory? However, when his body was brought out of the water, it was sans any such marks. While Lamberts investigation lasted only three hours, the meticulous Simon took three days. In fact, he strongly believed that one person picked Gregory from his home, whereas another threw him in the river. Grgory Villemin's body was found with his hands and feet bound in the Vologne river in the north-east of France on 16 October 1984. He and his wife had a 4-year-old child who was slightly retarded. They believed Christines handwriting matched the letter sent after Gregorys death, which stated that the killer hoped Jean-Marie would die of grief since money could not bring his son back. He has served as both a juror and chair of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting. Gregory's parents, Jean-Marie and Christine. And Laroche chafed at the way he was treated by the other Villemins. He began to give interviews and even made remarks like the Gregory affair being relatively simple. Selon eux, les donnes mdico-lgales montrent que lenfant a pu tre ligot aprs sa mort ou tre anesthsi avant dtre ligot et noy : avant dtre plong dans leau, lenfant a pu tre momentanment anesthsi ou rendu inconscient par inhalation dther ou chloroforme, soit provoquant la mort soit en supprimant les ractions rflexes lorsquil a t plong dans leau ( ) lventualit dune noyade pralable dans une baignoire ou du maintien forc de la tte de lenfant dans de leau ventuellement contenue dans un rcipient est possible. https://www.barrons.com/news/little-gregory-key-twists-in-heartbreaking-french-murder-case-01611770106. The identity of that suspect was not revealed as of this reporting. [10] Bolle later recanted her testimony, saying it had been coerced by police. [17] The aunt was released, while the great-aunt and great-uncle invoked their right to remain silent. On February 25, 1957, police discovered a cardboard box that had been dumped off the side of a country road near Philadelphia, PA. Jan 16, 2014. A French court is looking at new DNA evidence in the notorious murder of four-year-old Gregory Villemin, whose death has transfixed France for 36 years. In 2020, law enforcement officials reopened their investigation into Grgory Villemin's abduction and murder. Grgory Villemin (24 August 1980 16 October 1984) was a French boy from Lpanges-sur-Vologne, Vosges, who was abducted from his home and murdered at the age of four. The Keepers is a seven-episode series based on the murder of a nun, Sister Cathy Cesnik. In February 1957, A Young Boy Was Found Beaten To Death And Stuffed In A Box. Although the police maintain that they gave Murielle the chance to recant or change her testimony, she stuck to her statement. Ive strangled him and Ive thrown him in the River Vologne. Ce site non officiel mis en ligne le 17 janvier 2011 est destin aider toute personne cherchant des informations prcises et dtailles sur la Police Scientifique. This story was produced by AFP. Grgory's mother, Christine, was just inside the house ironing some clothes. Finally, she was let go, and moved in with her parents for some time, while their house was guarded by the police. The case of a little boys death, the anonymous and terrifying Crow, the quintessential French family feud and the gossipy small town of Lepanges have enthralled the nation. [11], In July 1985, Christine was charged with murdering Grgory. Gregorys father, Jean-Marie Villemin, received the letter the next day. There was intense media coverage of the case's details, but ultimately, the murderers were never found. His body was found four kilometres (2.5mi) away in the River Vologne near Docelles. Shortly after 5pm on the evening of Tuesday October 16th 1984, four year old Grgory Villemin was taken from outside his house in the village of Lpanges-Sur-Vologne in the Vosges region of France. BBC News reports a preliminary examination revealed Grgory was still alive when he was dumped into the river, and his cause of death was drowning. It would be important to note here that the family was being plagued by an anonymous individual making threatening phone calls and delivering letters. French detectives have found DNA traces from the child murder case of Gregory Villemin, a 4-year-old boy, who was found dead with his feet and hands bound in a river near his home in eastern France. A window at their home had been smashed and the tyres of the family car slashed. Ruyssen has put the French justice system itself on trial. The case became known as the Grgory Affair (French: l'Affaire Grgory) and for decades has received public interest and media coverage in France. A French court is looking at new DNA evidence in the notorious murder of four-year-old Gregory Villemin, whose death has transfixed France for 36 years. Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apparently, it was only after she had gone back to live with her parents, sister, and Bernard, that she recanted her statement. According to The Guardian, Lambert was responsible for a number of procedural errors including failing to secure the scene where Grgory's body was found and failing to order a complete autopsy. This theory is strengthened further when you consider the fact that the raven knew the inner details of the Villemin family. Showing Editorial results for gregory villemin. But Laroche provides an alibi -- his wife's 15-year-old sister Murielle Bolle. He shot and killed his cousin who he suspected of killing his son, Tragic: This photo of four-year-old Gregory Villemin was taken the year that he died, Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, Scholz Urges China Not To Arm Russia As U.S. Explores Sanctions, Former Italy PM Conte Investigated Over Response To COVID Pandemic, US Conservatives Target Liberal 'Threat' At Annual Forum, Russia Needs To Pay War Reparations To Ukraine, Says Polish Climate Minister, Taiwan Offers Taipei Residents $1,600 'Baby Bonus' To Increase Population. Apart from being a homeowner, he had a baby boy named Gregory. After six months of no progress on the case, Gregory's father shoots and kills Laroche outside his home. Christine Villemin then finds herself imprisoned for 11 days, before being released. Outside the courthouse, built by one of the last dukes of Burgundy, dozens of spectators wait in subfreezing temperatures for the chance to squeeze onto the hard benches of the gallery.