Nobody had ever been convicted of the killing. Let us know in the comments below. Three locals swore they had seen Grgorys mother at the post office on the day before his death, when the revenge letter had been posted; graphologists argued there was an 80% chance she was the letters author; string identical to that used to tie the boys hands and legs was found in the chalets cellar. The charges against the little boys great-aunt and uncle followed modern handwriting and linguistic analysis of some 2,000 letters and voice recordings that led police to conclude their authors were a man and a woman, the prosecutor, Bosc, said. One piece of evidence that backs up this theory is a letter left for Jean-Marie on the day his son was killed. While Jean-Marie was in jail for the revenge killing, his wife and Grgorys mother, Christine, appeared to the focus of the investigation. Erotomania: When a Person Truly Believes That a Stranger Is in Love WithThem, Haunting Polaroid Photo of Kidnapped Children Found onAsphalt, Rodney Alcala: The Mother of All SerialKillers, The Unsolved Murder of Grgory Villemin: The Tragedy That Still Haunts France. A few days later, the local gendarmes, soldiers who work as police in small rural areas in French towns, found a hypodermic syringe and empty vial of insulin box near the riverbank. is available now on Netflix. It's a case that has been heavily scrutinized in France for years but now has gained worldwide attention. It came to light that the childs parents had received anonymous letters and phone calls from a male threatening revenge against Gregorys father, Jean-Marie Villemin, in the years leading up to the murder. In the beginning, the primary suspect was Bernard Laroche, the first cousin of Jean-Marie Villemin. The question still divides French people. Jean-Michel Lambert, centre, taking part in the crime scene reconstruction after Grgory Villemin was found dead in the river in Lpanges-sur-Vologne. The recent detective work, he said, is monumental, and of high quality. 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A few hours later, while the. A year later, the sister-in-law admitted that she lied about seeing her brother-in-law with Grgory and that she was pressured by police to say so, after which the accusations were taken back and Bernard Laroche was discharged. She maintained her innocence, and was officially cleared by police six years later. Between hospital visits, Gregory's father Jean-Marie went to Laroche's home and shot him dead. It happened over 30 years ago Affaire Grgory, The Case of Grgory in English. His hands and feet were tied together with rope, his face in a woolen hat, and it emerged that the boy had been drowned. Four year-old Grgory Villemin , who was murdered near Docelles in the French department of Vosges on 16th October 1984. I learned why. In 2004, Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin were awarded compensation of 35,000 (32,000) each for the multiple shortcomings of an entirely failed investigation that had denied them the chance of knowing the circumstances of their sons death and caused them personal harm. Local reporters covering the case pointed out that none of those held on Wednesday was suspected of the boy's murder. She has rejected investigators firm belief and the testimony of a cousin that she was bullied by the family into retracting her 1984 statement incriminating her brother-in-law. Villemin, then 25 and six months pregnant with her second child, spends several days in prison. The darkest aspects of humanlifeandnature. Since the collapse of the case, police have been able to take advantage of advances in DNA technology to shed further light on the murder. The murder of little Grgory: unsolved case that haunted France may soon yield secrets Four-year-old boy's great uncle and aunt have been arrested and placed under investigation three decades after. Instantly recognisable, a photo of the little boy, all tousled hair and trusting grin, has haunted a generation. Grgory was a healthy and strong little boy, but sadly, Bernards son wasnt. Fifteen at the time of the murder, it was her testimony that led to the arrest of her brother-in-law Bernard Laroche in 1984. A day later she recants her statement. Ill have all your hides, one letter said. Christine was finally cleared eight years later and all charges against her dropped. Few cases beyond the disappearance of British three-year-old Madeleine McCann have aroused so much media interest, including a hit Netflix documentary series. 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Episode Guide: How Many Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Will There Be on Disney+? The little boys mother, Christine Villemin, told police that her son was playing in the front yard of their home when he vanished. 1,796, This story has been shared 1,701 times. With credit for time served awaiting trial and a partial suspension of the sentence, he was released in December 1987 after having served two and a half years. A fourth, said to be the victim's grandmother, was taken in as a witness. Your money will not bring your son back. It was the start of perhaps Frances best-known unsolved murder case; a tale of twisted family jealousies and festering village feuds, of poison-pen letters, judicial incompetence, false accusations and a revenge killing a crime that 30 years later would drive a man to take his life. As well as the lead that led to the great-aunt, it also showed that Gregory's grandmother, Monique Villemin, "could" be the author of an anonymous death threat sent in 1989 to an . The man, nicknamed Le Corbeau ("The Crow") by the media, especially hated Jean-Marie. The next month, a cousin of the boy's father, Bernard Laroche, was arrested when his sister-in-law, Muriel Bolle, testified against him. Christine jumped into her car and drove increasingly frantically around the small village of Lpanges-sur-Vologne, in Frances eastern Vosges region. Required fields are marked *. She retracted the evidence but prosecutors believe she was forced to do so by relatives. After more than three decades, laffaire du petit Grgory may finally be ready to yield its secrets. Ill tell you later, right before the credits roll. In 2018, Murielle Bolle authored a book on her involvement in the case,Breaking the Silence. Soon after, following the publication of yet more damning criticism of his handling of the case, Jean-Michel Lambert, the retired judge who as a young examining magistrate had led the initial investigation, was found dead at his home, a plastic bag over his head. Years after years, living in the same area, Bernard would grow more and more envious of his cousins successful life. Search instead in Creative? Further testing was done in 2008 on the rope, letters, and other evidence, but also proved inconclusive. You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. According to French news channel BFMTV, Judge Simon wrote at the time in his personal notebooks of Mr Lambert's "intellectual disorder". It will take eight years for Villemin to be cleared of all wrongdoing. Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin, centre and right, attend a court hearing following the murder of their four-year-old son. The murder has continued to haunt France ever since, but advances in DNA technology have helped police shed further light on the case. Crimes, Mystery And History Around The World. They were placed in police custody on suspicion of complicity in the murder, failing to report a crime or helping a person at risk, according to L'Est Rpublicain website. Your money will not bring your son back. El asesinato del pequeo Grgory Villemin, ocurrido hace 32 aos, es uno de los mayores enigmas policiales de la historia moderna de Francia. Grgory was kidnapped from his parents home and held for a certain time before his death, the prosecutor in Dijon, Jean-Jacques Bosc, said as he announced the charges. Parting Shot: Jean Ker, a photojournalist who covered the case, recounts an interview with family members of the Villemins that immediately draws suspicion to a angry, unstable cousin of Jean-Marie, Bernard Laroche. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. While her husband was in prison, Christine was charged with her sons murder after she was identified as the likely author of "The Raven" letters. Investigators believe that Gregorys murder was motivated by jealousy over the Villemins success. Netflix's official description for the documentary says: "When their 4-year-old son is murdered, a young couple fights a twisting and arduous battle trying to identify a frustratingly elusive killer.". He turned himself in immediately, and would not be released from jail until late 1987. She also accused her cousin Patrick Faivre of lying when he said that her family abused her in 1984 until she recanted her testimony against Laroche. Father Jean-Marie Villemins success as a factory foreman is referenced in a letter left by the murderer on the death of the childs death I have taken the bosss child, it notes. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 2,363, This story has been shared 2,299 times. "Investigations corroborated by criminal analysis show that several people colluded in the realization of the murder," he stated. Your next true crime obsession has arrived on Netflix. 1985, Christine was detained by the police, but later cleared of any charges. Police gathered handwriting samples from all the members of Jean-Maries family to rule them out, but handwriting analysis suggested that Laroche had a strikingly similar signature to that found at the bottom of the letter sent to the family. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Crow" harassed the mourning couple for four long years and neither his or Grgory's killers identity has ever been discovered. Jean-Marie Villemin vowed in front of the press that he would kill Laroche. But Laroche provides an alibi -- his wife's 15-year-old sister Murielle Bolle. He was released in 1985 when she retracted her statement, but shot dead by Jean-Marie Villemin, the boy's father, weeks later. Against the public prosecutors advice, Lambert ordered that Laroche be set free.