Me De Caunes: “It’s him who shoots, it’s not her!”
Concerning the murder of Célia, Me De Caunes argues: “Jean-Paul Vidal executed Célia and it was not after a look from Marie José through the window that he did it. If he kills her, it is for him, it’s to see his children again, it’s him who shoots, it’s not her! He’s involved in violence. But it’s he who benefits from possible leniency from the justice system.”
The requisitions against him concern 30 years of criminal imprisonment, compared to a life sentence required against Marie José Montesinos. “But why does Mr Vidal over-accuse himself? The beatings on Christophe Orsaz, it was really him! The investigating judge was patient with him, the one who confesses is always more sympathetic. It is a utilitarian calculation to considered as the instrument of the other”, ardently defends Me De Caunes. He adds: “We always believe Mr Vidal”. “He fills his cup to pour some on Marie José Montesinos, it’s a kind of judicial cheating.”
“There is no plan to kill Christophe Orsaz” pleads Me De Caunes
Me De Caunes repeats it: “There is no plan to kill Christophe Orsaz, nor anticipation and they do not choose the location of the ambush based on the presence of a pit whose existence they discover on site. ” Marie José Montesinos always indicated that she had never touched this pit. The blows with the iron bar “are part of this beating that they wanted to inflict on Christophe Orsaz, assures the lawyer, but things turned out differently.” Me De Caunes contests the accusations of assassination and wants to direct the jurors towards another qualification, that of violence leading to death without intention of causing it.
Final defense argument
It is the turn of Me Laurent de Caunes to take the floor for this last defense argument in favor of Marie José Montesinos. The mountain is very high with life sentences requested against this woman described as manipulative. “Wasn’t Mr Vidal deluded, intoxicated by external forces…?, asks the Toulouse criminal lawyer. He sets about dismantling the image of a monstrous killer. During the investigation, Jean -Paul Vidal, the co-accused of Marie José Montesinos, realizes that he could have been the fourth victim of this woman who had already attacked three of her former lovers. Marie José Montesinos has always said that he There had never been a question of “killing anyone.” For Me De Caunes, Jean-Paul Vidal very quickly served the cause of the prosecution. “On the demonization of Marie José Montesinos, “should we look for illusions additional time to send this woman back to the prison tunnel of life imprisonment?” asks Me De Caunes.
Marie-José Montesinos’ lawyer speaks
Me Elsa Correia Barberis first pleads for Marie José Montesinos. She highlights the depressive episodes that her client was going through a few months before the events and contests “the Machiavellian scheme put in place”. She returns to the childhood of this woman, victim of incest and married at the age of 16.
“Mr Vidal is not a murderer but he has become one”
Me Mathieu Montfort continues his pleading on the subject of Célia’s murder: “The last stop, he passes in front of Madame Montesinos and he stops in front of her. Celia’s cold executioner, it’s not that obvious. He wants her to bring back”. “Mr Vidal is not a murderer but he has become one and he does not deny it. He says it, I feel hatred towards myself. For Mrs Montesinos I am angry with him”. “Mr Vidal only feels guilt. He does not ask for forgiveness, because he knows it is impossible, but only justice.” The lawyer concludes towards the jurors: “If he could have been heard and listened to, he would have made my dress lighter.”
“He walks the path of repentance”
Jean-Paul Vidal’s lawyer, Me Mathieu Montfort, takes the floor for the defense. The Attorney General, Pierre Aurignac, has just requested 30 years of criminal imprisonment against the accused for the assassination of Christophe Orsaz and the murder of his daughter Célia, on November 30, 2017, in Bélesta (09) and Puivert (11). Facing the six jurors (four women, two men) the lawyer stands.
“Does Jean-Paul Vidal take full responsibility? Obviously. He is not a victim, he does not give up (the lawyer looks at the co-accused Marie José Montesinos). This transcription of the last moments of Christophe and Célia Orsaz is so rare in the criminal court. He made it to the end. He knows the penalty incurred, he could have avoided certain words. No, it’s uncompromising. I can’t be more specific than him. He walks the long path of repentance. He only asked to be listened to. Today, he just wants to shut up and disappear. So as not to inflict additional suffering on the civil parties. “There are much more than emotional flaws in him, he is an abyss. In the middle of this chaotic childhood, Jean-Paul Vidal searches for affection.
Me Montfort continues, still facing the jurors: “His relationship with Marie José Montesinos is secret. It’s a closed vacuum and perhaps a pressure cooker. He’s in love. He says, “I feel like she understood everything about me”. “In this emotional quest, with Marie José Montesinos, he is incapable of distancing.” He never doubted the letters, the threats, the text messages that Marie José Montesinos showed him because for him the truth is the other. She was the key to the devotion of Jean-Paul Vidal.”
“There has always been the desire to assassinate Christophe Orsaz in this case,” says the attorney general
For the attorney general, “there has always been the desire to assassinate Christophe Orsaz in this case”. Carrying the voice of the accusation, he continues his implacable indictment: “Marie José Montesinos wants to sully the image of Christophe Orsaz. The only problem is the breakup. Christophe Orsaz has never been found guilty of the slightest violence. Theft of the 6,500 euros? All witnesses close to Marie José Montesinos denied it. Because of the USB key ( a key containing pornographic content) ? Reasons that are both fallacious and essential. In the head of Marie José Montesinos these reasons found a semblance of existence. It creates a reason for hatred with each breakup. Narcissistic rage sweeps away everything. There is no madness in her, but severe personality disorders. Everything depends on his choices and his fixed ideas. No atom of humanity for the murder of Célia, they both took the path of crime without ever turning back. Heinous, irreparable, unforgivable facts.”
Differentiated sentences, which are explained by the personality of the two accused
The Attorney General requests that Jean-Paul and his co-accused, Marie José Montesinos, be convicted for the assassination of Christophe Orsaz and the murder of his daughter, on November 30, 2017, in Bélesta (09) and Puivert (11 ). The prosecution’s representative asks for a distinction in the sentences. Differentiated sentences which can be explained by the personality of the two accused. The attorney general praised the courage of Jean-Paul Vidal who delivered “a detailed account of the assassination of Christophe Orsaz”. Since the start of the trial on November 17, the former mechanic defended by Me Mathieu Montfort has always followed an approach of sincerity. On the other hand, the path to redemption for Marie José Montesinos is still far away, said the attorney general. “Marie José Montesinos caused two victims, she is at the origin of the facts and the conditioning of Jean-Paul Vidal who admitted the facts,” underlines the general advocate.
Life sentence required against Marie-José Montesinos
Life sentence required against Marie José Montesinos and 30 years of imprisonment against Jean-Paul Vidal. In his submissions, the Advocate General, Pierre Aurignac, insisted on the need to distinguish the two sentences. The life sentence required for Marie-José Montesinos is accompanied by a security period of 18 years.
To reread our previous hearing reports
To read our previous court reports from the trial of Marie-José Montesinos and Jean-Paul Vidal, click here.
Jean-Paul Vidal: “I can be influenced if I am in love”
Hello and welcome to our live
Follow, live all day, this Friday, November 24, 2023, the sixth day of hearing in the trial of Marie-José Montésinos and Jean-Paul Vidal.