Almost 40 years after the murder of little Grégory Villemin, the court has ordered additional DNA and voice recognition tests to take advantage of scientific progress and try to finally solve this emblematic case.
The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal in Dijon has “essentially” allowed “technical verifications and scientific expertise in addition to those already ordered”, prosecutor Thierry Pocquet du Haut-Jussé said recently, confirming information from RTL radio.
The magistrate also confirmed that this decision was in response to “requests for action from the civil party”, the parents of little Grégory, Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin.
The cords that were around Grégory’s hands and feet, as well as his coat and several letters from ‘the raven’ (le corbeau), will be examined and the DNA traces on these objects will be compared with the DNA of Michel Villemin, the uncle of the boy who died (in 2010).
On October 16, 1984, the boy’s body was found tied up in the Vologne, a river in the Vosges.
Four-year-old Grégory Villemin is playing outside while mother Christine is doing the ironing inside. But when mom goes to check at 5 p.m., the boy is nowhere to be found. After an hour of searching, she panicked and informed the gendarmerie of Lépanges-sur-Vologne. A few hours later, the boy’s body was found in the Vologne River, seven kilometers downstream. His hands and feet are tied with a rope, but otherwise the child shows no signs of violence.
Who killed the boy? Father Jean-Marie and mother Christine can only think of one name: “le corbeau”, or “the raven”.
A stranger from whom they have been receiving threatening letters for years, apparently because the man (or woman) is jealous that the family is doing well. Who is behind the alias of the raven? They have no idea about that. Maybe we’ll know more soon.
photo BBC RV
