For the seventh time, this Tuesday, March 14, the lawyers of Cédric Jubillar pleaded for the release of their client, in pre-trial detention since June 18, 2021 after his indictment for the murder of his wife, Delphine. This mother disappeared from the marital home on the night of December 15 to 16, 2020, in Cagnac-les-Mines, in the Tarn.
The investigating chamber of the Toulouse Court of Appeal re-examined the defense arguments during a closed-door hearing, in the presence of the 35-year-old plasterer. Without any real rebound in recent weeks in a case where the prosecution relies on “a body of serious and consistent evidence”, but without a body, confession or crime scene.
“The prosecution repeats at will, whatever the evolution of the case, the fact that it can only be Cédric Jubillar and that from that moment he can only stay in prison. We are clearly dealing with a stubbornness of the prosecution which violates the presumption of innocence, ”lamented Me Alexandra Martin, one of his lawyers.
“He has all his sanity and it becomes an achievement”
For him, if the prosecution were to be followed once again, “it means that this man, in a year, a year and a half – this is the prospect that one can have if a trial is organized – will always be in prison “. Because, after a reconstitution in mid-December and numerous acts of investigation, the closing of the instruction could take place in the months to come. For a trial before the Assizes next year.
In the meantime, Cédric Jubillar is still in solitary confinement. “I wonder how he didn’t go crazy, when you don’t see anyone you only talk to the walls. This man has all his sanity and I find that becoming an achievement. He has the strength of one who is innocent, ”insisted Mr. Martin.
For twenty-one months, each request before the judge of freedoms and detention has been rejected. A scenario that is repeated before the chamber of the instruction which must render its decision this time on March 28. To justify their decision to extend the pre-trial detention, the magistrates rely on certain criteria of article 144 of the Penal Code, in particular that on the conservation of clues and evidence, or even the “pressure on witnesses or victims as well as on their family.
Housing ready to welcome
At the hearing, the lawyers of the Tarnais again addressed the question of the accommodation which could accommodate him if ever he were to be placed under an electronic bracelet. On several occasions, this apartment made available by an acquaintance of Cédric Jubillar has been deemed unsanitary by the prison services for integration and probation. What has been denounced several times by the defense, photo in support.
If, in 15 days, the judges did not grant the request made by the husband of Delphine Jubillar, others will follow. “This is not a last-ditch request. Requests for release there will be others if necessary. Cédric Jubillar once again proclaimed his innocence, ”testified Jean-Baptiste Alary, one of the lawyers for the man who remains the main suspect in the death of his wife.
Because for the latter there is a risk that the detention of their client is assimilated to his guilt and that “his release would signify his innocence”, hence his continued detention. “While we are not at all in this debate, we are on a technical debate and it is simply a question of knowing what we want to do with pre-trial detention in France”, he concludes.