Murder of Grégory Villemin

From September 1981 to October 1984, Grégory's parents, Jean-Marie and Christine Villemin, and Jean-Marie's parents, Albert and Monique Villemin, received numerous anonymous letters and phone calls from a man threatening revenge against Jean-Marie for some unknown offense. The communications indicated he possessed detailed knowledge of the extended Villemin family.[3][4]

Shortly after 5:00 pm on 16 October 1984, Christine Villemin reported Grégory to police as missing after she noticed he was no longer playing in the Villemins' front yard.[3] At 5:30 pm, Gregory's uncle Michel Villemin informed the family he had just been told by an anonymous caller that the boy had been taken and thrown into the Vologne River.[5] At 9:00 pm, Grégory's body was found in the Vologne with his hands and feet bound with rope and a woollen hat pulled down over his face.[2][6]

The Vologne, where Grégory Villemin's body was discovered

On 17 October the Villemins received an anonymous letter that said "I have taken vengeance".[1] From then on, the unidentified author was referred to in the media as Le Corbeau "the Crow", French slang for an anonymous letter-writer, a term made popular by the 1943 film Le Corbeau.[1][6]

Bernard Laroche, a cousin of Jean-Marie Villemin, was implicated in the murder by handwriting experts and by a statement from Laroche's sister-in-law Murielle Bolle, and taken into custody on 5 November 1984.[7] Bolle later recanted her testimony, saying it had been coerced by police.[7] Laroche, who denied any part in the crime or being "the Crow", was released from custody on 4 February 1985.[7] Jean-Marie Villemin vowed in front of the press that he would kill Laroche.[2]

On 25 March handwriting experts identified Grégory's mother Christine as the likely author of the anonymous letters.[1] On 29 March 1985, Jean-Marie Villemin shot and killed Laroche as he was leaving for work.[7] He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 5 years in prison.[2] 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.[8]

In July 1985, Christine Villemin was charged with the murder.[9] Pregnant at the time, she launched a hunger strike that lasted 11 days.[10] She was freed after an appeals court cited flimsy evidence and the absence of a coherent motive.[10] She reportedly collapsed and miscarried, losing one of the twins that she was reportedly carrying shortly after being questioned by authorities.[11] Christine Villemin was cleared of the charges on 2 February 1993.[12]

The case was reopened in 2000 to allow for DNA testing on a stamp used to send one of the anonymous letters, but the tests were inconclusive.[13] In December 2008, following an application by the Villemins, a judge ordered the case reopened to allow DNA testing of the rope used to bind Grégory, the letters, and other evidence.[13] This testing proved inconclusive.[13] Further DNA testing in April 2013 on Grégory's clothes and shoes was also inconclusive.[2]

On 14 June 2017, based on new evidence, three people were arrested—Grégory's great-aunt and great-uncle, as well as an aunt—the widow of Michel, who died in 2010.[14] The aunt was released, while the great-aunt and great-uncle invoked their right to remain silent.[15] Murielle Bolle was also arrested and she was held for 36 days before being released, as were the others who had been detained.[16]

On 11 July 2017, the magistrate in charge of the first investigation, Jean-Michel Lambert, committed suicide.[17] In a farewell letter to a local newspaper, Lambert cited the increasing pressure he felt as a result of the case being reopened as the reason for ending his life.[17]

In 2018, Murielle Bolle authored a book on her involvement in the case, Breaking the Silence.[16] In the book, Bolle maintained her innocence and that of Bernard Laroche, and blamed police for coercing her into implicating him.[16] In June 2017, Bolle's cousin Patrick Faivre told police that Bolle's family had physically abused her in 1984 in order to make her recant her initial testimony against Bernard Laroche.[18] In her book, Bolle accused Faivre of lying about the reason why she recanted her initial statement.[18] In June 2019, she was indicted for aggravated defamation after Faivre lodged a complaint with police.[18]

Monique Villemin, Grégory's paternal grandmother, died on April 19th 2020 at the age of 88, presumably of COVID-19.[19]

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? (Netflix 2019).[3]

• List of unsolved murders