A woman thinks she recognized the fugitive, wanted for the murder of his wife and four children, during a prayer vigil on March 9 in Montferrand-le-Château, near Besançon. A report which comes at the time of new media coverage of the affair.
Six years ago, investigators carried out a police operation in a monastery in Roquebrune-sur-Argens, two faithful having claimed to have recognized Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, suspected of the murder of his wife and four children in April 2011. Another report made in recent weeks has this time led to new checks in connection with a religious community in Doubs, the public prosecutor of Besançon told AFP, confirming information from the Republican East.
A woman thinks she may have come across Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès during a prayer vigil last month. It took place in the presence of nuns and lay people on March 9 within the community of the Dominicans of Béthanie, a congregation founded at the end of the 19th century and established in Montferrand-le-Château.
According to prosecutor Étienne Manteaux, one of the members of the congregation came “accompanied by a man named Jean, whose community ‘Le verbe de vie’ was dissolved in July 2023 and who reported walking on the roads since then, without identity documents. This man was hosted for two nights by the participants in the vigil, before setting off again on the roads.
Seven vigil participants interviewed
A report according to which features of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès were recognized behind those of “Jean” was made to the gendarmerie. As the prosecutor pointed out, this report comes even though Christine Dupont de Ligonnès, convinced of her brother’s innocencegave several interviews in the media to promote his book.
In front of the investigators, two other participants indicate that it is possible that this man is indeed Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, without however formally recognizing him. Testimonies contradicted by four other people indicating that they found no resemblance between the two men.
Elements such as cans drunk by the visitor were taken in order to be analyzed and to allow the extraction of a DNA fingerprint. It will then be sent to the investigating judge in charge of the case in Nantes. The DNA taken will therefore be compared to that of France’s most famous fugitive.
More than 1,750 reports
To date “more than 1,750 reports” had been “received and used”, both in France and abroad, recalled the Nantes prosecutor, Renaud Gaudeul, at the end of March, while investigators “continue their investigations in order to locate Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès”.
A source close to the case told BFMTV in mid-March that with each media coverage of the case, investigators noted an increase in reports, but that, despite everything, all the reports made were studied.