Eight years after the events, one year after the first trial, Guerric Jehanno was again sentenced to thirty years of criminal imprisonment for the kidnapping, forcible confinement, rape and murder of Amandine Estrabaud. A heavy sentence in a case without body or DNA. After five days of trial, the victim’s family says they are relieved despite a “half-victory”, reports
the Depeche du Midi.
“I find it hard to appreciate this victory as long as we haven’t buried Amandine”, regrets Remy, her little brother, while her aunt Eliane admits to being “exhausted”. Their lawyer, Me Pierre Dubuisson, even tries it one last time, when the verdict is in: “He can still relieve his conscience. If he now says where the body is, the sentencing judge will necessarily take it into account. This could save him up to 8 years of freedom. “
Total lack of material evidence
But for Guerric Jehanno, supported by his family, the blow is hard to take. His lawyers have spared no effort, pointing to multiple gray areas in the case. “Not a particle of blood, not a shred of flesh, not a broken nail, not a piece of fabric, not the fiber of a garment”, details Me Simon Cohen, tenor of the Toulouse bar, indicating that “105 tools were found at Jehanno’s, all inspected and nothing worked ”. Me Marie-Hélène Pibouleau, another defense lawyer, questions the testimony of Amandine’s neighbor, since the schedules she gives on the last moment when we saw Amandine Estrabaud do not match the working hours of the accused.
The defense also points to the way in which the investigation was conducted. Hasn’t the neighbor also complained at the helm of the orientation of police questions? As for the testimonies of three fellow prisoners, who affirm according to the Parisian that Guerric Jehanno confessed to them and drew up the plan to find the body, the lawyer points out that the testimonies do not agree and that they were made in exchange for a promise of remission of sentence. Before advancing tensions in the Estrabaud family, and that there might not even have been a crime if Amandine had disappeared voluntarily.
“The only one to match all these criteria”
This does not prevent the prosecution from unfolding the scenario of June 18, 2013. The perpetrator would have been present in Roquecourbe that afternoon, between 3:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., wearing orange trousers with soufflés. He would have hitchhiked Amandine Estrabaud, would have brought her home before being invited to inspect an infiltration at the back of the house. It was there that he allegedly assaulted the young woman, before knocking her out, then taking her in his white van where he allegedly raped and killed her.
Guerric Jehanno “is the only one to meet all these criteria”, points out the Advocate General. The jurors finally confirmed the conviction of the court of Albi, by “a majority of at least 8 votes” out of nine: 30 years of criminal imprisonment. Defense lawyers still regret a “sleight of hand, not to say judicial tampering” on the addition of charges of rape and murder, for which there is “no evidence”. They are considering a possible cassation appeal.