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foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you
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need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for
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confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on
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our website today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all
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listeners [Music] it was 1 15 p.m on March 29 1985 when Jean-Marie villman approached the
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LaRosa's front door with a shotgun in hand Bernard had just arrived home with his
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wife son and father-in-law Jean-Marie raised his gun towards his cousin taken aback Bernard said don't do
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anything stupid he urged his cousin to put the gun down I swear I didn't hurt your kid Bernard
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said it wasn't me [Music] he invited Jean-Marie to come inside so the two could talk
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Jean-Marie demanded answers he hadn't come with the intention to cause harm but the more Bernard tried to
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placate him the more overwhelmed Jean-Marie became the words from the Crow's letter haunted
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him I hope you die of grief [Music] he aimed the gun at Bernard's chest and pulled the trigger
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[Music] [Music] Jean-Marie villmann had been astonished that the man he believed killed his son
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was allowed to walk free while suspicion fell on his pregnant grieving wife Christine
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he had told the press that the investigators were doing everything they could to push her over the edge
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he made no secret of the fact he wanted Bernard LaRoche dead even telling one journalist of his plans to pull off the
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assassination one month prior if the police weren't capable of getting Justice for his son Jean-Marie remarked
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I'll do the job myself before the shooting Jean-Marie was spotted loitering around Bernard's work
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and home on several occasions Marie Angela Roche feared they'd be targeted and requested police protection
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her requests were denied and now her husband lay in a pool of his own blood the shotgun blasting a hold
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near his heart and killing him instantly Jean-Marie villmann jumped in his car and raced to the hospital where his wife
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was still being cared for he screamed as he told her what he'd done he then turned himself into police and
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was placed under arrest for the murder of Bernard LaRoche press gathered outside the La Roche home
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and snapped photos as Bernard's Body was wheeled away [Music] four days later on Tuesday April 2 1985
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over 200 mourners gathered for Bernard's funeral the family warned the press to keep at
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Bay but photographers still assembled at a safe distance Bernard was laid to rest in Ormond say
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an inscription on his gravestone reading here lies Bernard innocent victim of blind hatred
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in accordance with French law if a suspect passes away before a conviction is secured any legal action against them
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is terminated this meant that even though the murder charges against Bernard LaRoche was
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still active at the time he was shot in his death he essentially benefited from the presumption of innocence
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there would be no further investigation into his potential involvement in Gregory vilmann's murder
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while Jean-Marie and christinevillemann believed their son's death had now been Avenged many others disagreed
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in the eyes of the authorities the public and Bernard's anguished family members a killer was still on the loose
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and many believed they knew exactly who that killer was [Music] in late April police conducted an
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extensive search of Jean-Marie and Christine's home it was no longer occupied with her husband now in jail Christine
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had gone to live with her grandmother in a small town roughly an hour's north of
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LA panch as police scoured the Chalet they were on the lookout for one item in particular
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[Music] in the cellar they came across some sheets of metal that had been tied together with Rogue
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it was exactly what they were looking for ensic analysis revealed that the rope in
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the villman's home was identical to that which was used to tie Gregory's hands and feet together
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Jean-Marie told police the Rope came from his father who had helped him with some work a few months prior to
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Gregory's death Jean-Marie said roped from the same bundle had also been used to fix the
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roof of Bernard LaRoche's car his father denied this [Music] although the discovery was compelling it
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wasn't exactly The Smoking Gun investigators were hoping for the Rope was a common household item in
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the region and most residents purchased their Hardware from the same suppliers but when combined with the handwriting
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analysis and the reported witness sightings of Christine vilman at the post office on the afternoon of
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Gregory's Abduction the circumstantial evidence against Christine was starting to mount
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all that was missing was a motive with Bernard LaRoche out of the picture tabloids ran wild with the possibility
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that Christine vilmann could be Gregory's real killer a rumor gained traction that Bernard and
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Christine had been having an affair some wondered if Gregory found out about it and Christine killed him to ensure
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his silence or what if Bernard was really Gregory's biological father maybe Christine had killed Gregory
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because she could no longer stand the living breathing proof of her adultery Christine told reporters it wasn't her
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job to convince the public she was innocent all that mattered was what the authorities believed
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the public scrutiny became so intense that she avoided going out altogether authorities still hadn't managed to
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uncover any evidence that Christine had been unfaithful to Jean-Marie but there were Whispers that their marriage wasn't
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the solid united front they presented to the media Christine had met Jean-Marie when she
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was just 16. he was her first and only love until they'd been Inseparable ever since
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there were whispers about domestic violence Christine claimed Jean-Marie had slapped
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her once in 1979. she'd gone to stay with her mother until they'd reconciled quickly after that
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investigators wondered whether Christine could have killed Gregory to spite her husband for mistreating her in the past
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the possibility was also floated that Christine could be mentally ill and had killed Gregory during some kind of
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psychotic episode maybe she didn't want to spite Jean-Marie at all but was jealous of his
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love for Gregory and wanted her husband's attention all for herself a month after Bernard LaRoche's murder
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Jean-Marie villmann participated in an official reenactment of the shooting although it was standard police practice
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it was a media spectacle with hordes of press in attendance fears of further vigilante justice were
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so strong that Jean-Marie was required to wear a bulletproof vest he remained in custody awaiting trial
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Christine visited him several times a week never budging from her stance that the husband and wife were anything other
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than completely United by the start of July 1985 Christine was six months pregnant
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for eight and a half months her son's unsolved murder and the subsequent events had dominated national news
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as journalist Michael Dobbs wrote In The Washington Post who killed petite Gregory
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wherever you go in France this summer there is no escaping the insistent question
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it screams at you from the front pages of newspapers and the covers of news magazines
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it turns up in Endless conversations on trains in working class bistros on the beach at dinner parties
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but the Press were running out of new angles to cover relatives of those involved and Village
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locals had a long grown weary of the incessant media attention with some displaying signs on their doors that
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read we have nothing more to say the public wanted Justice and investigators were eager to close the
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case once and for all on Friday July 5 Christine villmann was arrested and charged with Gregory's
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murder Christine was unwavering in her claims of Innocence after six days in custody she announced
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she was going on a hunger strike unless she was released from remand news of the strike reached her husband
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in prison and he too stopped dating five days into the strike the courts agreed that there wasn't enough evidence
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to Warrant holding Christine behind bars she was released under judicial supervision to await trial in her
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grandmother's care by this point several media Outlets had labeled Christine villaman the most
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hated woman in France adding fuel to the fire was a controversial article published in the
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popular Daily Newspaper liberation [Music] titled Sublime necessarily Sublime Christine V the article was written by
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Margarita duras a famous writer known as one of France's most important literary
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figures duras was convinced of Christine's guilt she reported that Jean-Marie had once
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hit Christine because she overcooked some steaks jurass wrote that Christine lay awake at
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night fantasizing about gouging out her husband's eyes in jurassa's opinion Christine felt
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trapped in her marriage and never wanted to be a mother killing Gregory and encouraging
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Jean-Marie to avenge his death by shooting Bernard LaRoche was a way to free her of both traps
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it was the perfect plan jurass wrote no man in the world can know what it's like for a woman to be taken by a man
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she doesn't desire [Music] Marguerite duras had never met Christine she based her opinion mostly on a
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feeling that she had upon seeing the villman's home in LA panch although the article was prefaced with a
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warning that the work was purely the view of the writer it had a huge influence on public opinion
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wanting to avoid another Bernard LaRoche situation Christine was put under police
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protection [Music] a month after Christine's arrest a six-page letter arrived at the office of
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case Magistrate Judge Jean-Michel Lambert postmarked from a town 600 kilometers west of LA panch the letter began
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my name is Corrine I'm 16 years old I'm a friend of Muriel Bowl Bernardo LaRoche's sister-in-law
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I can no longer keep to myself what Muriel told me [Music] Corinne explained that she was from LA
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panch but was sending the letter while on vacation she claimed that Muriel had confided in
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her that she had indeed been in Bernardo LaRoche's car on October 16 1984 the day
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Gregory villmann was killed Muriel had retracted her confession out of fear of her family
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according to Korean Muriel said that Bernard was madly in love with Christine villaman
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Christine had rejected his advances so Bernard killed her son out of Revenge shortly before the crime Christine
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allegedly told Bernard she was glad she didn't marry him because his son was floored whereas hers was perfect
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[Music] Bernard was said to have responded don't worry he won't be perfect for long
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the mysterious Korean couldn't be found it was possible this was a fake name or that the letter was a ruse written by
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one of Christine's supporters Christine denied ever making such comments to Bernard
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either way investigators didn't put much weight on it instead proceeding with their case against Christine
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in late September Christine gave birth to her second child a son her lawyers recognized that as an
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opportunity to change her Public Image at their advice Christine allowed photographers from Paris match to take
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photos of her in the newborn in hospital she was paid generously for the exchange
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instead of showing her as the loving doting mother she hoped it would the public accused Christine of exploiting
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her new child and profiting from the crime [Music] regardless she continued making paid
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media appearances gracing the cover of major magazines and writing a book about her experience
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people interpreted her willingness for the spotlight as a further sign of her guilt and her lack of remorse
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she was slammed for making money off the back of her dead son but with mounting legal bills Christine felt she had
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little choice even her in-laws turned against her Gregory's grandparents Albert and
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Monique Wilman who had also been victimized by the crow thought the pieces of the puzzle all fit together
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Wednesday October 16 1985 marked the one-year anniversary of Gregory vilmann's death
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investigators were still gathering information to determine if there was enough evidence to proceed with
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Christine vilmaan's trial the case against Christine was entirely circumstantial
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unless they could find evidence linking her directly to the crime or exposing an
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indisputable motive they had nothing the argument that Christine had killed Gregory due to some kind of mental
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illness or postpartum episode was quickly losing traction Christine had been subject to
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psychological testing during her time in remand and nothing had been found to indicate she was of anything but
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perfectly sound mind close friends family members co-workers neighbors and teachers had all been
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questioned about Christine they all described her as a doting devoted mother who loved her son and
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husband dearly no one could provide a valid explanation as to why she might want Gregory out of
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the picture Jean-Marie was also indisputably confirmed to be the boy's biological
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father regardless judge Jean-Michel Lambert remained convinced of Christine's guilt
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reconstructions were held to see if Christine could have committed the crime during the purported time frame
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Christine's movements were unaccounted for between picking Gregory up from his nanny's house at 503 pm and alerting her
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neighbors to Gregory's absence shortly after 5 30 P.M the location in docel where Gregory's
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body was found was six kilometers from the villman's home in LA pange the timings didn't fit
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however the day after Gregory was killed tire tracks and the imprints of a woman's shoe had been found in the
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riverbank at a clearing in the village of desimon this was only 2.3 kilometers from the
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villman's home although it would have been a stretch authorities concluded that if Christine
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was exceeding the speed limit it was possible that she'd killed Gregory at her home and then dumped his body in
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decimon in that time frame on Saturday December 6 1986 just over two years after Gregory vilmann's murder
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the court agreed there was enough evidence against Christine vilmaan to Warrant a trial
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the decision flawed Christine fearing it meant that baby Julian would be taken away from her she overdosed on
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tranquilizers and had to be rushed to hospital Christine survived the suicide attempt
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and her lawyers appealed the decision they argued that the biased press coverage guaranteed there was no way
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Christine would get a fair trial one of her lawyers remarked that the media had distorted Christine's image so
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severely that there was no hope this could be restored in court furthermore the circumstantial case was
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just too flimsy the circumstantial case was this there was heightened activity on
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Christine and jean-marie's phone line during the peak times when the crow was active
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several of Christine's co-workers believed they'd seen Christine at the LA panch post office on Tuesday October 16.
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around the time the letter was sent by the crow claiming responsibility for Gregory's murder
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some experts believed Christine's handwriting was the closest match to the crow of all the extended vilmaan
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relatives a Reconstruction had shown Christine would have had enough time to commit the
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crime had Gregory's body been thrown from the clearing in decimon thin rope later found in her home
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matched that used to bind Gregory's body however each of these points could easily be refuted
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the heightened phone activity could be explained by Christine calling others to alert them of the Crow's harassment
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it was possible that her co-workers were mistaken about the day they saw Christine at the post office
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this could be proven by the mail order she sent the day before Gregory's murder as well as the descriptions of the
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outfit she'd been wearing at the time questions were also raised about the Rope found in the villman's home
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some neighbors who had watched the search unfold accused the police of incorrectly handling the robe by not
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placing it in sealed evidence bags it was also deemed odd that prior Searchers of the vilmaan's home hadn't
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revealed this rope accusations arose that police had planted the evidence in a desperate bid
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to get a conviction others blamed vigilantes some citizens were so convinced of Christine's guilt that it was possible
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someone had snuck into her empty home and fabricated evidence against her as for the handwriting while some
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experts believed it matched Christine's others pointed to Bernard LaRoche as the
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author of The Crow's letters furthermore the timeline presented for Christine to commit the crime was
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implausible Not only was there no proof of where exactly Gregory's body had been thrown
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into the water even if the timeline did fit it still didn't prove that Christine
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was guilty the court of appeal ordered that further investigation be conducted they weren't convinced there was enough
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evidence to charge Christine and had also identified some procedural errors that had been made along the way
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it was yet another in a long series of roadblocks the fact that so much time had passed
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without a conviction was a major saw point for authorities something needed to change
00:23:00
the criticism against the judge Jean-Michel Lambert had been escalating his desire for the media Spotlight had
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led him to disclose information that impacted the Integrity of the investigation
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accusations of a conspiracy continued along with claims that judge Lambert had become enamored with Christine
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the case needed a fresh set of eyes the decision was made to start the investigation from scratch in a new
00:23:31
district with a new magistrate taking charge the job went to judge Maurice Simon who
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was aged in his 60s as an older and much more experienced to judge he had a formidable reputation for
00:23:48
being level-headed discreet and impervious he also kept a safe distance from the
00:23:55
media the original investigation file had amassed over 3 000 pages of information
00:24:03
judge Simon took over the file in March of 1987. after painstakingly trawling through
00:24:10
each detail 450 of those pages were immediately deemed invalid due to improper handling
00:24:20
the various co-workers who had allegedly seen Christine villaman post a letter on
00:24:25
the day of Gregory's death were re-interviewed it quickly became clear that they'd all
00:24:31
gotten together to corroborate their stories when pressed these Witnesses admitted
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they may have been mistaken about the day they saw Christine at the post office judge Simon ordered full reconstructions
00:24:47
of all the possible routes Christine could have taken if she was indeed responsible for Gregory's death
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it was a major operation the original reconstructions had been done in just three hours
00:25:01
judge Simon's meticulous reconstructions lasted three full days a similar model car to Christine's
00:25:11
Renault was driven from the vilmaan's home to the various locations along the vallone river that had been pinpointed
00:25:18
as the possible launching site for Gregory's body the roads were narrow and windy
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in age scenario it was deemed impossible that Christine could have completed the
00:25:30
round trip in the designated time frame Not only would she have had to have the skills of a race car driver there were
00:25:38
many other cars on the road there was no way someone driving at the required speed to commit the crime would
00:25:45
have gone unnoticed again a mannequin of similar proportions to Gregory vilmann was thrown from
00:25:53
various locations to try and determine the Killer's launching point when discarded from the clearing in
00:26:00
decimon where the tire tracks and women's shoe print was found the mannequin passed through protruding
00:26:06
rocks got stuck in branches and became covered in River slime to get to the area where Gregory's body
00:26:15
was found it also had to pass through an area of shallow water only 15 centimeters deep
00:26:22
the clearing in decimon was ruled out there was simply no way Gregory's body could have made it Downstream without
00:26:30
sustaining a single mark plaster casts of the tire tracks were compared to the tires of Christine
00:26:37
vilmaan's Renault they didn't match nor did the shoe print match any shoes found in her possession at the time of
00:26:45
the crime this location was eliminated from the investigation entirely the reenactments determined it was much
00:26:57
more likely that Gregory had been thrown into the water behind the fire station in docel
00:27:02
the same place his body was discovered four hours after he went missing the problem with this theory was that
00:27:11
various multi-level buildings and Residences overlooked this area there were no trees or anything else
00:27:17
that obscured the riverbank many people had been in this area on the night Gregory was killed and no one had
00:27:24
witnessed a single thing two new forensic experts were appointed to review the findings
00:27:33
based on the condition of Gregory's body at the time he was found they determined
00:27:39
there was no way the boy had been in the water for four hours it was much more likely that he'd been
00:27:45
held somewhere else for a period of time before being thrown in the river shortly
00:27:50
before he was discovered not only did this explain why there were no Witnesses this presented a new
00:27:59
possibility entirely all this time investigators had been working on the theory that one or two
00:28:07
people had been working in conjunction to pull off Gregory's murder it explained the two voices that have
00:28:13
been heard during the calls from The Crow but if Gregory had been held elsewhere
00:28:20
it was possible that whoever had abducted him had then handed him over to another accomplice
00:28:27
this raised the question what if a third person had been in on the crime [Music]
00:28:44
for the forensic experts tasked with reviewing Gregory vilmann's case the absence of defensive marks or other
00:28:51
signs of a struggle on Gregory's body was a major clue They concluded the most likely scenario
00:28:58
was that the four-year-old had been anesthetized shortly after his abduction while chloroform or something similar
00:29:06
could have been used the vial of insulin found near the crime scene couldn't be ignored
00:29:13
the two milliliter vial was six times higher than the recommended dose for a four-year-old diabetic
00:29:20
if Gregory had been injected with the insulin it would have taken about 90 minutes for him to fall into a coma
00:29:28
the killer or Killers could have therefore held him unconscious for several hours before tying him up and
00:29:35
throwing him into the river under the cover of Darkness there he would have drowned peacefully
00:29:41
within minutes tying his limbs together might have simply been done to add another Macabre
00:29:47
element to his death without toxicology testing to prove if Gregory had been drugged it was only a
00:29:55
theory but for judge Maurice Simon it was the most credible Theory so far it also threw Bernard LaRoche and Muriel
00:30:05
bowl back into the fold Muriel's alleged Presence at the crime scene had always been a big question
00:30:12
mark if Bernard had indeed killed Gregory why did he involve his teenage sister-in-law
00:30:20
the insulin Theory could explain this Muriel had access to the drug via her mother and purportedly knew how to
00:30:28
administer it the now 20 year old Muriel was interrogated again over five hours judge Simon used all of
00:30:38
his expertise to pry information from Muriel she claimed she could no longer remember
00:30:44
any details of Tuesday October 16 1984. as reported in the Netflix documentary who killed little Gregory judge Simon
00:30:56
believed Muriel was on the verge of confessing multiple times he got the feeling she was terrified of
00:31:03
her family in one instance their eyes locked judge Simon felt like Muriel was trying
00:31:12
to convey a message that said don't you understand I can't talk I tried everything and I lost
00:31:27
judge Simon scrutinized every single detail of the case for over two years determined to leave no stone unturned
00:31:36
when the crow had been active Monique villaman had kept a notebook of the time and dates of all the calls she and her
00:31:43
husband received judge Simon discovered this notebook had since been tampered with
00:31:50
various pages had been torn out and details had been altered among the missing pages were calls that
00:31:58
took place at times where Christine villaman was at work and unable to use the phone
00:32:06
an audio expert listened to all the recorded tapes of the Crow's phone calls and concluded that there were indeed two
00:32:14
different people responsible for the cause one was a male likely middle aged between 45 and 50 years old
00:32:23
the other initially sounded like a woman of similar age but the more the expert listened he concluded the second voice
00:32:31
was likely a younger male aged between 30 and 40. who those individuals were remained
00:32:38
unknown there had never been any doubt that the crime had been committed by someone in
00:32:46
the family or with a very close connection to the family judge Simon considered all possible
00:32:52
motives and rumors he investigated claims of blackmail extortion Affairs illegitimate children
00:33:00
and degenerational grudges despite these Monumental efforts he uncovered no evidence of any Sinister
00:33:08
family secrets every key member of the extended vilmaan family was re-interviewed and subject to
00:33:17
another handwriting test most were reluctant to talk Gregory's grandparents Monique and
00:33:25
Albert were tight-lipped judge Simon got the feeling there was something they were trying to hide
00:33:34
over the years questions had been raised as to the potential involvement of Gregory's Uncle Michelle vilmaan
00:33:42
not only did Michelle have a close friendship with Bernardo LaRoche and harbor a debut jealousy for his brother
00:33:48
Jean-Marie he was the only family member who'd been alone every time he'd allegedly received a phone call from the
00:33:56
crow some wondered if he'd made the calls up entirely to deflect attention from himself
00:34:03
if Michelle presented himself as a victim of the crow surely no one would suspect him as being involved
00:34:13
as part of the reenactments investigators had Michelle villmann replay his movements from the afternoon
00:34:19
of October 16 1984. Michelle was visibly nervous as hayri lived at the phone call he'd received
00:34:27
from the crow announcing that Gregory had been killed Michelle said that after receiving the
00:34:34
call he ran outside and yelled for his 12-year-old brother Lionel who was playing outside with a friend
00:34:41
the crow had told Michelle I'm calling you because there is no answer next door Michelle therefore told Lionel to go and
00:34:51
find their parents and to let them know what had happened police had questioned Lionel about this
00:34:58
just days after Gregory's death in 1984. at the time Lionel said he didn't hear the phone ring
00:35:07
judge Simon re-interviewed a Lionel this time Lionel said he did recall hearing the phone ring the friend he was playing
00:35:15
with outside did not Michelle's reenactment raised some concerns some viewed his movements as strangely
00:35:26
formal and precise as though he'd rehearsed things in advance there was also the question of why
00:35:33
Michelle had sent Lionel to notify their parents given the urgency of the situation
00:35:39
Michelle was older faster and had a car why not do it himself the call from the crow had come through
00:35:49
at 5 32 pm this was the same time that Christine had just noticed that her son was no
00:35:56
longer playing in the front yard [Music] the crow told Michelle that Gregory's mother was out looking for him at a time
00:36:04
she'd barely registered that he was missing the crow also said that Gregory had been
00:36:10
strangled which wasn't accurate there was one possible explanation for these discrepancies
00:36:18
Michelle hadn't received a call at all but was simply repeating what someone had told him to say
00:36:31
by 1990 judge Maurice Simon had arrived at the conclusion that Christine villaman had nothing to do with
00:36:38
Gregory's death all signs pointed to Bernard LaRoche possibly working in conjunction with one
00:36:45
or two accomplices however with Bernard and our deceased and unable to defend himself judge Simon
00:36:53
had to be incredibly careful about publicly implicating him [Music] he agreed to a meeting with a reporter
00:37:01
from the magazine new detective under the presumption that anything he said was off record
00:37:07
however the magazine published the story complete with the judge's Theory lawyers for the LaRoche family filed a
00:37:17
complaint against a judge Simon for violation of confidentiality he was automatically removed from the
00:37:23
case thus undoing his years of hard work but the worst was still to come on Tuesday January 30 judge Maurice
00:37:36
Simon suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma when he regained Consciousness he could
00:37:43
no longer remember anything about the Gregory villain case the curse of the vallone as the
00:37:50
investigation came to be known had claimed another victim prior to Jean-Marie villman's arrest for
00:38:00
killing Bernardo LaRoche he and Christine had sold their home in La panch eager for a fresh start
00:38:08
a woman named Charlotte eventually bought the house as Charlotte became close to her
00:38:14
neighbors one of them made a confession there was a detail about the day of Gregory villman's abduction that the
00:38:22
police didn't know Marcel claudon was a farmer who kept her cows grazing in a field near the
00:38:31
villman's home in the evenings she would go to the field to herd them back to their Barn
00:38:38
when questioned by police in 1984 Marcel said that on the afternoon of October 16
00:38:44
she was late to retrieve the cattle at 5 15 PM her husband drove her down the road to collect them
00:38:53
they didn't see Gregory playing outside nor did they notice any other cars or people in the area
00:39:02
however Marcel had since told her new neighbor Charlotte that this was a lie Marcel hadn't been with her husband that
00:39:11
day at all but with her male friend when driving down the narrow road to collect the cows they passed a green car
00:39:21
the car had to stop and reverse to let Marcel and her friend pass there were two occupants inside
00:39:29
one looked just like Bernardo LaRoche after judge Maurice Simon's heart attack in 1990 Charlotte reported this
00:39:39
information to the new judge in charge of the investigation Marcel's friend whose name was Claude
00:39:47
Colin was tracked down he confirmed the story although Claude couldn't remember the
00:39:54
color or make of the car he recalled that the occupants were a poorly man and a red-haired woman
00:40:01
descriptions which matched Bernard LaRoche and Muriel ball once Claude found out about Gregory's
00:40:10
death he asked Marcel to lie about his presence in the area Claude didn't want his wife to find out
00:40:17
he'd been there as it was rumored that Marcel and Claude were lovers he was also supposed to be at work at
00:40:24
the time and feared that he'd lose his job if his employers found out faced with claude's confession Marcel
00:40:34
claudon admitted she Delight to police but not only to protect Claude or the status of their relationship
00:40:42
in the wake of Gregory's death Marcel claimed she'd received Anonymous threats from someone saying they'd burn her
00:40:49
house down if she spoke about what she saw this was a huge revelation one of the main reasons that suspicion
00:41:00
had been cast on Christine vilmann was that none of her neighbors had noticed anyone else in the area at the time of
00:41:07
Gregory's abduction it was a close-knit community and neighbors were known to protect one
00:41:13
another armed with this new information investigators considered it was possible
00:41:20
that other neighbors also saw a vehicle in the area but had lied to protect Marcel claudon
00:41:28
[Music] the 1984 confession made by Muriel bowl that implicated Bernardo LaRoche in the
00:41:38
crime was put under the microscope Muriel had claimed that the local police had threatened and intimidated her into
00:41:46
making the false statement but at the time she was being held in custody she was visited by her family
00:41:53
doctor who knew her well the doctor reported that Muriel was visibly happy and relaxed
00:42:02
when they asked if the police were treating her well Muriel reportedly responded that they were really nice
00:42:09
she had been given food adequate breaks and was allowed to watch television after Muriel made her confession her
00:42:19
father had been summoned to the police station the police wanted to know if his daughter was a reliable Witness
00:42:26
not only did Muriel's father say there was no reason to doubt her story but when he asked Muriel if she was okay
00:42:34
with being questioned further she allegedly said it's no problem the police are my
00:42:41
friends Muriel claimed that a police officer had drawn the sketch of the rude she and
00:42:48
Bernard supposedly took with Gregory further investigation revealed that an officer did indeed draw a map of La
00:42:56
panch but only because Muriel couldn't describe the Village from memory it was Muriel herself who then used the
00:43:04
map to pinpoint the K locations they visited Muriel's mother Janine had since passed
00:43:12
away prior to judge Maurice Simon's removal from the case he questioned as Janine's
00:43:18
former nurse she had taken care of Janine for several years and became her close confidant
00:43:26
according to the nurse Janine had made a deathbed confession she believed that Muriel was telling the
00:43:34
truth about having accompanied Bernard to kidnap Gregory although Muriel adored children and
00:43:42
would have never gone along with it if she knew the young boy was in danger INE also refused to believe that Bernard
00:43:51
was capable of murder she thought it much more likely that he'd handed the child off to an
00:43:56
accomplice to finish the grisly deed the nurse confirmed that while treating Janine she had left insulin and syringes
00:44:06
at the bowl residence she had also toured Muriel how to administer insulin injections
00:44:14
but she recalled this happened in 1985. a year after Gregory villmann was killed
00:44:22
judge Simon had also spoken to Bernard's Aunt Louisa dejacob who lived next door
00:44:28
to Bernard and his wife louisette had a mild intellectual disability but was considered sensible
00:44:35
and incapable of lying on three separate occasions louisette told judge Simon that shortly after
00:44:43
Gregory villem was killed Muriel approached her in tears she confided that she had been in
00:44:51
Bernard's car with his son Sebastian and little Gregory Bernard had left with Gregory and
00:44:58
returned shortly after alone Muriel's classmates who claimed to see her get into a car on the afternoon of
00:45:07
October 16 1984 were re-interviewed two of them were shown a photo board containing several vehicles
00:45:16
when asked to identify the one they saw Muriel get into the witnesses both pointed straight to a green Peugeot 305
00:45:24
belonging to Bernard La Roche by February of 1993 eight years and three months had passed since Gregory
00:45:38
vilmaan's murder his mother Christine had spent seven and a half years trying to avoid facing
00:45:45
trial for the crime on Wednesday February 3 the criminal court released a 93-page judgment
00:45:53
relating to Christine villaman's possible involvement in her son's death the findings were unprecedented
00:46:03
after reviewing all the available evidence the report concluded that Christine had been a victim of years of
00:46:09
judicial misconduct multiple factors had contributed to this the shortcomings of the initial
00:46:17
investigation procedural errors rivalry between the various law enforcement agencies disagreements between experts
00:46:25
and the violation of confidential information the court also ruled that the extreme
00:46:32
media coverage had influenced Witnesses leading some to provide unfounded information and others to withhold vital
00:46:40
details out of fear that their own personal lives would be exposed because of this Lions had been blurred
00:46:47
to a point that the ongoing investigations could no longer determine the truth any theoretical motives for wanting
00:46:57
Gregory dead were officially quashed the court declared Christine vilmaan innocent of all charges and ordered that
00:47:06
her name be cleared entirely [Music] the report concluded that the immense effort that had been put into the
00:47:14
investigation since Judge Maurice Simon's takeover placed an overwhelming amount of Suspicion on Bernard LaRoche
00:47:22
the original investigation had ruled it implausible that Bernard could have kidnapped Gregory without the little boy
00:47:28
screaming or fighting given he was very wary of strangers but as the report pointed out Bernard La
00:47:37
Roche was no stranger the two had met several times and Gregory had no reason not to trust him
00:47:47
it had also been deemed unrealistic that Bernard would have kidnapped Gregory in
00:47:52
the presence of his young son and sister-in-law the court disputed this although Muriel ball didn't recall ever
00:48:01
meeting Gregory villmann she had actually looked after him before Gregory had also played with Sebastian
00:48:08
on several occasions therefore Bernard could have purposely taken the youngsters with him knowing
00:48:15
that it would put Gregory at ease moreover if Christine did come out of the house while Bernard was
00:48:22
mid-abduction he could have used Muriel and Sebastian as an excuse by explaining
00:48:28
the trio were passing through and had simply invited Gregory to join them for a walk
00:48:35
the most questionable part of Bernard LaRoche's story had always been the 45-minute window between 4 45 and 5 30
00:48:43
pm on October 16 1984 that was unaccounted for he claimed that he'd driven to his
00:48:52
friend's house after they had failed to arrive at Aunt louisette for a pre-arranged meeting to go buy wine
00:48:58
together when interviewed by judge Simon the friend had no recollection of making
00:49:04
this appointment he also said it was doubtful that Bernard would have driven to his house
00:49:11
given that none of his neighbors recalled seeing anyone pull up the report admitted that although there
00:49:19
was no physical evidence tying Bernard LaRoche to Gregory's murder it was still possible that he'd been involved in the
00:49:25
kidnapping it also pointed out that because Bernard didn't immediately come under suspicion
00:49:32
he had plenty of time to destroy evidence as for the possibility of laying charges
00:49:39
against Muriel ball the court found it was likely she did indeed attend the kidnapping of Gregory vilmaan and had
00:49:47
inadvertently facilitated the abduction by reassuring Gregory with her presence however it was entirely possible that
00:49:56
she was completely unaware of the purpose of the Expedition and had only realized her involvement upon reading of
00:50:02
Gregory's death the next day in the absence of any Criminal Intent or physical evidence the court found it
00:50:11
impossible to indict Muriel bowl for any charges the report concluded ultimately there are very serious
00:50:21
charges against Bernard LaRoche on the other hand the underlying reasons for the hatred which seems to have
00:50:29
dictated this crime remain uncertain it is impossible to affirm that Gregory vilmaan whose death remains shrouded in
00:50:37
mystery was killed by Bernard LaRoche as long as the witnesses who claim to know nothing or give versions of the
00:50:46
facts apparently contrary to the other results of the investigation no new hearing confrontation or other
00:50:53
investigation will succeed in overcoming their stubbornness and dissipating the thick Mists that still remain
00:51:01
for these reasons the court hereby rejects the requests for new additional information and declares there is no
00:51:09
reason to proceed further against anyone the media had been quick to stigmatize Christine villaman as her son's killer
00:51:19
but with the courts officially absolving her of the crime it barely made the news
00:51:33
the announcement brought mixed emotions for Christine and Jean-Marie villman although they were thrilled that
00:51:40
Christine had been officially exonerated they still hadn't received closure about
00:51:44
their son's murder there were still so many unanswered questions by killing Bernard LaRoche Jean-Marie
00:51:54
had hindered any further investigation into his involvement in an earlier interview with the
00:52:01
journalist Marianne orsony Christine was asked if there was anyone she would never be able to forgive
00:52:09
Christine replied Muriel ball is the one I hate the most right now if she hadn't recanted LaRoche would be
00:52:19
in jail he would have been tried and to Jean-Marie would not be in prison he would always be by my side and I
00:52:27
wouldn't be wrongly accused but we'll have to know the truth someday Jean-Marie had been released from prison
00:52:38
in 1987 and placed on judicial supervision awaiting His official sentencing his trial finally went ahead in December
00:52:47
of 1993. all the key individuals in the Gregory villain case were scheduled to appear
00:52:55
including Witnesses family members police and experts from various fields the presiding judge saw it as the
00:53:05
closest the courts might ever get to holding a trial for Gregory vilmaan's killer
00:53:11
recognizing an opportunity to publicly dissect all the circumstances relating to the young boy's death the judge
00:53:18
declared that no topic would be off limits he stated this abominable Affair has been made of
00:53:27
suspicions and gossip we must take advantage of this trial to wash it out only the truth can bring a bit of peace
00:53:36
from all this sadness on the first day of the trial hordes of people gathered outside the courthouse
00:53:44
hoping for a seat inside Jean-Marie villam was placed behind a bulletproof barrier for his own
00:53:51
protection although he openly admitted to killing Bernard LaRoche Jean-Marie reasoned that
00:53:59
his actions were warranted given his firm belief that Bernard had killed his son and managed to get away with it
00:54:07
Jean-Marie told the court I regret what I did at the time I was overwhelmed by grief
00:54:16
but don't ask me to beg for forgiveness the crow said I would die of grief Maybe
00:54:24
but I wanted to have him first Bernard's Widow mariange was also present outside court she told reporters that
00:54:36
she didn't blame Jean-Marie for killing her husband as he too was a victim instead she placed blame on the media
00:54:44
and the botched investigation for fueling jean-marie's rage the case's original Magistrate Judge
00:54:54
Jean-Michel Lambert was called to testify on the stand he answered a barrage of questions regarding the failures of the
00:55:03
early investigation he mostly gave evasive answers responding I don't remember or simply
00:55:12
it's possible Judge Lynn bear said he regretted giving inappropriate interviews to the Press
00:55:19
saying he was influenced by the media Madness at the time Haye admitted that it was an error to
00:55:27
release Bernardo LaRoche stating I certainly made mistakes I recognized them but I refuse to be a scapegoat
00:55:38
on the stand Muriel ball stuck by her story that the police had intimidated her into making a false confession
00:55:47
Gregory's grandmother Monique Wilman strongly denied she was lying to protect a family Secret
00:55:54
her husband Albert conceded it was possible that his son Michelle villman was behind the crow an accusation that
00:56:03
Michelle strongly denied some of the recorded phone calls from the crow were played in public for the
00:56:11
first time the fear they invoked in many members of the vilmaan family was obvious
00:56:19
new voice recognition software had recently been developed but the court had denied a request to have the
00:56:26
recordings of the crow analyzed on the grounds that they're testing was too unreliable
00:56:32
a Scientific Advisor for the software company was put on the stand to explain that unlike a fingerprint there is no
00:56:40
unique voice print that can be attributed to an individual the recordings of the crow were also a
00:56:47
very poor quality hindered by background noise and voice overlays making testing
00:56:52
even more difficult foreign the jury deliberated for four hours before declaring Jean-Marie villmann
00:57:03
guilty of murdering Bernard LaRoche he was sentenced to five years prison taking into account time already served
00:57:13
Jean-Marie was released in secret two weeks later to avoid the inevitable media onslaught
00:57:21
once again emotions were mixed for Jean-Marie and Christine vilmann on one hand Jean-Marie was free
00:57:31
on the other the trial had made very little progress in identifying their son's killer
00:57:38
the infuriating mystery of the crow remained [Music] Jean-Marie and Christine vilmaan did
00:57:55
their best to move on with their lives they relocated and had two more children including a boy named Simon after judge
00:58:03
Maurice Simon who had been unwavering in his quest to find answers the couple stopped doing any media
00:58:11
appearances but they never wavered from their determination to get Justice for their son
00:58:18
although Gregory's case went cold Jean-Marie and Christine continued to stay abreast of any technological
00:58:24
advancements that could lead to a breakthrough in 2016 years after Gregory's murder the
00:58:33
couple requested that the investigation be reopened to examine any possible DNA evidence
00:58:40
the letters from the crow were all looked into only one still contained a postage stamp
00:58:46
the stamps on the others having since disappeared an analysis of the remaining stamp
00:58:53
revealed traces of DNA but the DNA was unusable the latter had simply exchanged too many
00:59:00
hands over the years and hadn't been properly stored undeterred Jean-Marie and Christine
00:59:09
requested that the DNA be re-examined in 2009. this time DNA was found on the final
00:59:16
letter sent by The Crow there were two separate DNA profiles one belonged to a male and one to a female
00:59:27
DNA was gathered from over 100 members of the extended vilmaan family and tested against the profiles found on a
00:59:34
ladder but no matches were found the following year the letters sent by the crow were tested again to see if any
00:59:43
DNA could be found on the seals of the envelopes nothing of use was detected in 2010 the case was discreetly reopened
00:59:56
after pressure from the attorney general they requested that a full analysis be done of the clothes Gregory was wearing
01:00:03
at the time of his death as well as on the pieces of rope that had been used to tie him up
01:00:10
no DNA was found on the robe but a strand of hair was detected on Gregory's pants
01:00:17
the hair was tested revealing traces of mitochondrial DNA hopes were higher that this would
01:00:24
finally be the Breakthrough that determined who killed Gregory once and for all but the DNA didn't match anyone on file
01:00:34
the vial of insulin its packaging and the syringe that were found near the crime scene were also examined
01:00:41
no usable DNA was found several fingerprints under traces of DNA were also found on the letter from
01:00:51
Corinne the mysterious friend who claimed Muriel ball had confided in her about her involvement in Gregory's
01:00:57
abduction the fingerprints belonged to a magistrate and two police experts while
01:01:04
the DNA couldn't be linked to anyone the voice recordings of the crow were digitized
01:01:12
using Advanced Audio recognition technology they were compared against the voices of the various protagonists
01:01:19
in the Gregory villmann case as had been recorded by journalists in the early days of the investigation
01:01:27
once again the voices of both a man and a woman could be detected but it wasn't possible to identify a specific
01:01:34
individual in 2013 the Attorney General announced there is still hope in so far that the
01:01:45
file is not closed but from a scientific point of view hope is fading [Music] while re-examination of the Crow's
01:01:59
letters hadn't led to a DNA breakthrough they had revealed something else of Interest
01:02:05
investigators kept their findings quiet thus surprising everyone when on Wednesday June 14 2017 it was announced
01:02:14
that multiple arrests had been made earlier that morning police descended on all monsay and knocked on the door of 72
01:02:23
year old Marcel Jacob and his wife 73 year old Jacqueline Marcel was the younger brother of
01:02:32
Gregory's grandmother Monique vilmaan and therefore Gregory's great uncle although Marcel was technically an uncle
01:02:41
to Bernardo LaRoche there was only a 10-year age gap between the two they'd grown up together and remained
01:02:48
close in adulthood Marcel Jacob had been looked into in 1984. he immediately came under suspicion as
01:02:59
he was known to have a strange relationship with Gregory's grandfather Albert as well as a majority of the
01:03:05
vilman sons the only one of the family Marcel was on good terms with was Jackie vilmaan the
01:03:13
illegitimate son who the crow seemed determined to defend when Jean-Marie received his promotion
01:03:21
to factory Foreman Marcel was particularly scornful he accused Jean-Marie of sucking up to
01:03:29
his superiors sneering I don't shake hands with a boss [Music] some members of the family had suspected
01:03:38
Marcel Jacob of being the crow for various reasons Albertville Mann believed he'd once
01:03:45
heard someone walking up a staircase in the background of one of the Crow's calls
01:03:50
Marcel's home phone was situated at the top of a staircase a letter from the crow had also
01:03:58
referenced an altercation between family members that Marcel Jacob had witnessed
01:04:03
Marcel and Jacqueline had a teenage daughter and some thought they recognized her voice as the female crow
01:04:12
but most significant was the fact that Marcel and Jacqueline lived next door to Bernardo LaRoche in a house perched on
01:04:21
the hill above the home of Gregory's grandparents the Jacobs were close friends with the
01:04:27
LaRosas but when Bernard and Marcel were questioned in the wake of Gregory's murder both tried to downplay their
01:04:35
friendship Bernard and Marcel also looked remarkably similar one witness had even come forward to
01:04:44
identify the composite sketch of the suspect as Marcel Jakob at the time Marcel's schedule on the
01:04:53
evening Gregory was killed had been looked into both he and Jacqueline worked at the
01:04:58
ormondsey spinning Factory they'd been rostered on for the night shift which ran from 1pm to 9pm
01:05:07
Marcel claimed they'd both attended a union meeting from approximately 2 p.m until 4 45 pm
01:05:14
police had contacted the factory supervisor who confirmed their presence at work that day
01:05:21
with his Alibi established Marcel Jakob was ruled out of the investigation [Music]
01:05:28
when judge Maurice Simon took over the case years later he requested a meeting with the Jacqueline Jacob who had never
01:05:35
been questioned before [Music] she refused to attend then in 1991 handwriting experts
01:05:44
re-examining the letters from the crow noticed some striking similarities to Jacqueline's handwriting
01:05:51
she was formally summoned to a police interview Jacqueline was reluctant to answer any
01:05:58
questions which only served to cast further suspicion on her and her husband Marcel and Jacqueline's Alibis were
01:06:08
looked into further while they had indeed been rostered to work that day investigators learned that factory
01:06:15
employees often swapped chefs or took over from one another at a machine [Music]
01:06:20
it was therefore possible that one or both of them had temporarily left work after the union meeting finished at 4 45
01:06:28
pm if they'd conspired with their close friend Bernard LaRoche he could have been tasked with abducting Gregory while
01:06:37
the Jacobs were tasked with finishing their job foreign was approximately 17 kilometers or a 20
01:06:47
minute drive from the location in dosel where Gregory's body was found a witness had seen a couple in a van
01:06:56
driving towards docile at 4 45 pm it was possible that one or both of the Jacobs could have driven there and taken
01:07:04
Gregory off Bernard LaRosa's hands before killing him dumping him in the vallone river and returning to the
01:07:11
factory before their shift ended at 9pm by the time this theory was properly explored seven years had passed since
01:07:21
the crime was committed the factory where the Jacques worked didn't use clocking machines so there
01:07:27
was no record of their work hours on the day of the crime the courts determined that too much time
01:07:34
had passed to pursue any charges in the absence of any sufficient evidence against them any further
01:07:42
investigation into Marcel and Jacqueline Jacob was dropped [Music] in 2016 the creation of new software
01:07:54
allowed investigators to upload information from the hundreds of testimonies that had been gathered in
01:07:59
the Gregory Vilma case over the decades the program then used this information to establish an extremely detailed
01:08:07
chronology of the day that Gregory was killed this allowed for the Alibis of various
01:08:14
family members to be cross-checked aerial photographs of the key locations in the case were also analyzed to see
01:08:22
whose movements lined up with the crow and who had access to the information divulged by the crow over the years
01:08:31
based on the findings investigators generated a report that concluded two different scenarios
01:08:39
1. Bernard LaRoche had kidnapped and murdered Gregory villmann with the complicity of Muriel Bowl
01:08:46
2. Bernard LaRoche had kidnapped Gregory with complicity from several accomplices
01:08:53
someone other than Bernard had committed the Final Act of murder in this scenario all of the accomplices
01:09:01
would have shared the same jealousy towards Jean-Marie villaman several names were highlighted
01:09:08
one of those was Gregory's Uncle Michelle vilmaan while Michelle's confirmed Presence at
01:09:16
home on the afternoon Gregory was killed ruled him out as being directly involved
01:09:21
in the crime itself the report speculated that Michelle played a key role as intermediary
01:09:28
his wife Jeanette was also known to Harbor intense jealousy towards Jean-Marie and Christine vilmaan
01:09:36
the report concluded that Michelle and Jeanette had fed at the crow gossip which allowed them to harass various
01:09:43
family members for years the other accomplices were determined to be Marcel and Jacqueline Jacob
01:09:51
the report concluded on October 16 1984 Marcel and Jacqueline Jacob were able to satisfy their hatred
01:10:01
for the villains by carrying out the assassination of little Gregory in 2017 the decision was made to arrest
01:10:11
the couple for complicity in Murder failure to disclose a crime and failure to assist a person in danger
01:10:20
the couple now aged in their 70s were taken into police custody and interrogated
01:10:27
Jacqueline mostly evoked her right to remain silent Marcel was tight-lipped at first but
01:10:34
eventually began to speak he maintained he'd been at work on the evening of October 16 1984 and he and
01:10:42
his wife had both attended a union meeting Marcel said he'd learned of Gregory's
01:10:49
abduction at around 9pm from his supervisor the police asked why he didn't participate in the search
01:10:58
Marcel responded that he'd only ever met Gregory once and didn't want to get involved in things that weren't of
01:11:05
concern to him however Marcel's daughter Valerie told police that in the days following
01:11:12
Gregory's death Marcel had called her from work seeking updates on the case this not only proved that he had an
01:11:21
interest in the investigation but also that he was able to make personal phone calls from his work
01:11:28
this detail was significant some of the calls from the crow had been made during a Time Marcel Jacob was
01:11:36
confirmed to be at work background and always heard in the phone calls could potentially be explained by
01:11:43
the factory noise according to Valerie her mother had twice tried to leave her father
01:11:50
she'd only come back after Marcel threatened to reveal something about her Valerie also told police that her
01:11:59
parents had permanently kept a pair of binoculars in their living room during the early 1980s and constantly used them
01:12:06
to look towards Monique and Albert villman's home [Music] police conducted a search of the Jacob's
01:12:18
house they found multiple items of Interest including minutes from the union meeting
01:12:23
that Marcel and a Jacqueline claimed to have attended on the afternoon Gregory went missing
01:12:30
these handwritten minutes listed both of them as attendance this was odd Marcel had been questioned about his
01:12:39
Alibi back in 1984. if he had proof he was at the meeting why not hand it over then or when he was interrogated by
01:12:48
judge Maurice Simon years later a letter written by Marcel to Gregory's grandparents Monique and Albert was also
01:12:57
found it was dated Monday December 14 2009 around the time that the DNA in Gregory's case was starting to come
01:13:07
under the microscope Marcel wrote regarding the Gregory villman Affair I am 100 innocent
01:13:17
I swear on the lives of my mother my daughter my grandchildren and all my family
01:13:23
if you don't believe me life no longer has any meaning for me this raised some significant questions
01:13:34
Marcel Jacob had never been officially deemed a suspect so why did he feel the need to write a letter to his sister
01:13:41
declaring his innocence but perhaps the most interesting Discovery was made in the couple's
01:13:48
basement a sealed cardboard file containing newspaper clippings relating exclusively
01:13:54
to the vilmaan case Marcel explained that he'd written a letter claiming his innocence just in
01:14:03
case he was ever wrongfully arrested he said the timing had nothing to do with his DNA being collected
01:14:11
as for the meeting minutes he'd held on to them in case they have approved useful one day
01:14:18
Marcel said it was impossible to leave the factory without a written permission slip signed by a supervisor
01:14:26
when questioned other co-workers disputed this saying that Marcel had been known to come and go on occasion
01:14:36
Marcel and Jacqueline weren't the only ones arrested on June 14 2017. Michelle villman had passed away in 2010
01:14:47
but his ex-wife Jeanette was also taken into custody during her interrogation she was mostly
01:14:55
evasive saying she couldn't remember the answer to most of the questions Jeanette denied that she or her
01:15:02
ex-husband harbored jealousy towards Jean-Marie and Christine she claimed they were happy for the
01:15:08
couple's success Jeanette was released Gregory's grandmother the now 86 year old Monique vilmaan was also questioned
01:15:21
in 1989 judge Maurice Simon had received an anonymous letter encouraging him to investigate Christine vilmaan for her
01:15:30
son's death the reopening of the case had identified the handwriting as belonging to Monique
01:15:36
Wilman while Monique conceded to police that the handwriting did look like hers she
01:15:43
said she didn't send the letter she still believed that Bernard LaRoche was innocent but denied that she was
01:15:51
lying to protect anyone Monique described the relationship between Marcel Jacob and her family as
01:15:59
very good the police asked Monique are you sure you've said absolutely everything you know about this sad
01:16:07
affair to which she responded Yes after four days in custody Marcel and a Jacqueline Jacques were released due to
01:16:19
their age but held under judicial supervision news of their arrests immediately made
01:16:26
news catapulting the case back into the headlines after 33 years members of the media
01:16:34
continued to blame the drawn-out unsolved case on the failings of the original investigation led by judge
01:16:40
Jean-Michel Lambert on Sunday June 11 2017 judge Lambert took his own life a suicidal letter explained that he no
01:16:54
longer had the strength to fight over the years Muriel Bowl remained steadfast in her claims of Innocence
01:17:08
but in May 2017 a parishioner of a church in La panch made a startling discovery
01:17:15
the church had to register where individuals could sign in or leave a message scrawled in the book from a recent
01:17:23
visitor were the words it is indeed Bernard L who killed Gregory I was with him the message was signed by Muriel bowl
01:17:35
and a dated May of 2008. this didn't make sense the register book had only been in the
01:17:43
church for a few months regardless the page of the book was forensically tested the DNA profiles of six individuals were
01:17:53
detected among them Muriel Bowl in late June 2017 Muriel ball was indicted for kidnapping and forcible
01:18:05
confinement followed by Death held in custody Muriel went on a hunger strike to protest her innocence
01:18:14
re-examination of the DNA on the notebook determined it wasn't a match for Muriel after all
01:18:21
however one of the DNA profiles did belong to a magistrate who had been involved in the Gregory villmann
01:18:28
investigation leading to the possibility they'd written the message as a hoax Muriel was released on judicial
01:18:37
supervision just over a month after her arrest due to a lack of evidence in 2018 the Now 49 year old released a
01:18:47
book titled breaking the silence Muriel told a reporter for Le Parisian newspaper that it was the only way
01:18:55
people could hear her side of the story she said her involvement in the case had
01:19:00
ruined her life and hurt her family all fought until the end to prove my innocence she said
01:19:08
I am innocent in her book Muriel described Bernardo LaRoche as loyal protective kind and
01:19:18
degenerous She Wrote who can still believe today that if Bernard was the culprit I would cover
01:19:26
for him why would I have covered up the murder of a child if Bernard had anything to do with the
01:19:34
death of a child I would have said it without hesitation whatever the price to pay
01:19:41
later that year another surprise announcement was made handwriting experts analyzed the letter
01:19:48
from the mysterious Corinne and determined it had likely been written by Gregory's grandmother Monique vilmaan
01:19:58
in mid-2020 the 88 year old matriarch passed away due to complications from coronavirus disease
01:20:06
a lawyer for the family told Paris match magazine I think that Monique knew certain things
01:20:13
regarding Gregory's crime she could have made certain Revelations but she did not do so for reasons that
01:20:21
belong to her a Swiss expert in stylometry was tasked with examining the case styleometry is the study of a linguistic
01:20:33
Style rather than focus on the physical handwriting itself it focuses on the words vocabulary sentence length and
01:20:42
grammar used to attribute authorship to disputed documents the stalometry expert released an
01:20:49
intricate 174-page report of their findings They concluded that the letter from the
01:20:57
crow had been written by as many as five different people one of whom was Jacqueline Jacob
01:21:05
while the stalometry findings were compelling the merits of this technique aren't considered infallible especially
01:21:12
when it comes to criminal cases a lawyer for Jacqueline Jacob told reporters previous handwriting reports have
01:21:22
offered totally different conclusions if we want to oppose this quackery we can do it but that won't bring us closer
01:21:30
to the truth as of early 2023 Gregory vilmann's murder remains unsolved the case has been subject to at least 15
01:21:46
books multiple documentaries and TV series as explained by journalist Michael Dobbs
01:21:54
for the Washington Post the Gregory case continues to grip the public as a quote
01:22:00
has been the story with everything a murdered child blackmail rivalry between different police forces a second murder
01:22:09
family hatreds and dark suspicions that some terrible Injustice has been done back in 1993 a lawyer for the LaRoche
01:22:20
family told the LA Times that stupidity was the reason the case hadn't been solved
01:22:26
he commented all the mistakes in an investigation that could have been made have been made
01:22:34
here his sentiments were shared by a lawyer for the Wilman family who added the institution's only function if the
01:22:44
people in them function in this case the people didn't function throughout the investigation various
01:22:54
pieces of evidence of being mishandled or gone missing entirely expert testimony has been nullified
01:23:02
Gregory's autopsy has been declared inadequate investigators have been blamed for being
01:23:08
biased towards certain Persons of Interest with their lack of control allowing the media to Railroad
01:23:14
everything the media fast can't be understated as one academic explained from an ethical perspective this case is
01:23:26
disturbing not only because of the gruesome details but also due to the negligible morality of the media's
01:23:33
coverage it has been questioned whether the protagonists in this story were merely
01:23:40
observed by the journalists or whether the journalists pushed them to act a lawyer for Bernardo LaRoche once told
01:23:48
the Press perhaps if from the beginning everyone had remained silent reporters wouldn't
01:23:55
have stayed here and it would have been just another ordinary crime in France over the years Muriel ball and Marie
01:24:06
Angela Roche have both received financial compensation for the way the investigation was mishandled
01:24:12
[Music] Jean-Marie and Christine vilmann also received a payout for being served a
01:24:18
miscarriage of Justice for many years the cemetery in La panch was a tourist Hotspot with people
01:24:26
flocking from all over to visit the grave of little Gregory eventually Jean-Marie and Christine had
01:24:34
their son's body exhumed and cremated in a private ceremony they kept half of his ashes for
01:24:41
themselves something private after all the years of extreme public scrutiny they are still married having raised
01:24:49
their three children in the suburbs of Paris where people no longer recognize them
01:24:57
Christine and Jean-Marie say they only managed to survive through the ordeal because of their love for each other and
01:25:03
their children whom they say restored the balance in their lives but their firstborn son Gregory will
01:25:11
never be forgotten in the days following the child's death a sobbing Jean-Marie told journalists
01:25:21
Gregory was Lively tender he grew up in happiness [Music] [Music] [Music]