Ten years ago to the day, May 12, 2013, France does not know it yet but it is about to follow one of the most striking stories of the decade: that of Fiona. That day, the 5-year-old girl went missing after her mother, Cécile Bourgeon, fell asleep in a park in Clermont-Ferrand. Hours of research followed, impressive citizen mobilization and considerable police resources. The child will remain untraceable.
Ten years later, still no trace of Fiona. His mother and ex-stepfather have since been sentenced to twenty and eighteen years in prison respectively in December 2020. Ten years later, 20 minutes looks back at the Fiona affair which marked the country, as it touched, and still touches, “the taboos of motherhood and infanticide, concealed by lies”, according to Dalie Farah, author of the book Find Fiona.
What happened on May 12, 2013?
On May 12, 2013, at the end of the afternoon, Cécile Bourgeon, 25 years old at the time, reported the disappearance of her eldest daughter, Fiona, aged 5. She told the police that she fell asleep in Parc Montjuzet in Clermont-Ferrand where the girl and her 2.5-year-old little sister were playing. Significant research is immediately undertaken but does not allow Fiona to be found. Four days later, on May 16, the mother of the family appealed to the cameras, demanding, with sobs in her voice, that her daughter be returned to her. An SOS that moves the whole of France.
How was the investigation carried out?
On September 24 of the same year, Cécile Bourgeon and her companion at the time, Berkane Makhlouf, 35, were arrested and placed in police custody in Perpignan, where they had moved. The investigators have doubts about their statements, especially since the couple is consumed by drugs.
During her hearing, Fiona’s mother admits that she faked the girl’s disappearance. Her boyfriend allegedly beat her to death and she lied to cover it up. Cécile Bourgeon also reveals that he kicked her regularly. The latter contests: he would have found the 5-year-old child dead in his bed, suffocated by his vomit. He would have liked to call the emergency services but Cécile would have stopped him, for fear of having custody of his other children taken away. The duo would then have left to bury the body of Fiona in the forest of Aydat, about thirty minutes southwest of Clermont-Ferrand. The little sister would have attended the scene. Investigators quickly discover
On October 22, 2013, Cécile Bourgeon and Berkane Makhlouf were indicted for “aggravated violence resulting in death”, “failure to assist a person in danger” and “receiving or concealing a corpse”. They are incarcerated. During the couple’s last trial, in 2020, François Bernard, former regional director of PJ de Clermont-Ferrand, said he had “swept a space of 300 square km” with dog teams, soldiers and even municipal employees but without ever find the girl’s body.
When and how did the trials take place?
The couple’s first trial began on November 14, 2016, in Riom, before the Puy-de-Dôme Assize Court. After two weeks of debate, Berkane Makhlouf is found guilty of the violence that led to the death of Fiona and is sentenced to twenty years in prison. The girl’s mother was acquitted of these charges but was sentenced to five years in prison for “failure to assist a person in danger”, “receiving or concealing a corpse”, “modifying the inventory of a crime” and “false denunciation of a crime”. Three days later, the Clermont-Ferrand prosecution appealed.
The second trial opens a year later, on October 9, 2017, in Puy-en-Velay, before being postponed to the end of January 2018. On February 11, the two accused are sentenced to twenty years in prison. Their lawyers file an appeal in cassation. The Court of Cassation breaks the verdict a year later, a new trial will take place. Having already completed her five years of detention, Cécile Bourgeon is released.
The final trial will not take place until December 2020. In the meantime, Fiona’s mother became pregnant, gave birth – she will not obtain custody of this baby – and then the Covid-19 arrived. At the end of this judgment? Still so many mysteries surrounding the circumstances of Fiona’s death and the whereabouts of the girl’s body. Cécile Bourgeon is finally condemned to twenty years of prison, Berkane Makhlouf, to eighteen years.
Why did this news item mark the whole of France?
For Dalie Farah, author of Finding Fiona (Ed. Grasset), the Fiona affair affected the whole of France because it concerns “two major taboos in our society: that of motherhood and that of infanticide. “It comes to resonate in each of us. The death of a child breaks the order of death. As soon as there is a rupture, there is an imbalance. In this case, it became national and everyone wanted to restore it, ”analyzes the author again.
Dalie Farah adds: “These taboos have, moreover, been hidden behind a lie that has extorted compassion. At the beginning, people had a desire for help, then this feeling turned into hatred around the figure of the mother. The writer also noted, following the publication of her book, that after ten years, “the malaise” is still as present. For her, this case is made up of what are thought to be “exceptions” but which are in fact “revealing of commonplace things in society” such as child abuse, legal complexity, the personality of the mother or the presence of the drug.
Dalie Farah, who has followed the case closely from the start, also points to “questions to which no one will ever have the answer”. In her book, the expert tries to provide leads even if some cannot be, according to her, elucidated: “even if there are strong hypotheses, the burial will remain the greatest mystery of the Fiona affair. »