Since the start of his appeal trial which began on June 14 before the North Assize Court of Appeal, Willy Bardon has been claiming his innocence. But not enough to convince the prosecution which requested against him Wednesday a sentence of 30 years of criminal imprisonment, for “rape in assembly, kidnapping and kidnapping” followed by the death of Elodie Kulik in 2002.
At first instance, in 2019 before the Assizes of the Somme, he was sentenced to thirty years imprisonment for the same offenses. As soon as the verdict was pronounced, he had attempted to commit suicide by ingesting a pesticide.
A “crucial” recording of 26 seconds
On the night of January 10 to 11, 2002, Elodie Kulik, 24, “was extracted very violently” from her wrecked car on the edge of a departmental road, then “taken” six kilometers away, to be “raped, killed and burnt, ”said the general counsel, Pascale Girardon. “This room still resonates with (its) moans of fear,” shuddered the substitute general Annelise Cau. That night, Ms. Kulik is driving at 60 km / h, “brakes for no apparent reason, slips, rolls over”, and calls for help, leaving investigators with a 26-second recording, “crucial”, she said. recalled.
We perceive there “a discussion between two men”, described Annelise Cau, and “the martyred body of Elodie designated” one of them: Grégory Wiart, whose sperm found on the victim was identified in 2012 thanks to a new DNA analysis technique. But died in 2003, he was never questioned, and the investigation turned to his relatives.
“The recognition of his voice” in the recording
“What distinguishes Willy Bardon” from other suspected suspects, “is his proximity to Grégory Wiart”, who shared his passion for 4×4, alcoholic evenings, women, said Pascale Girardon. But it is above all “the recognition of his voice” in the recording by several relatives, in particular five people placed in police custody with him, in 2013.
“Willy Bardon recognized his own voice” before a judge and investigators, argued Pascale Girardon, seeing “a half-confession”. She returned to each “convincing” clue, revealed by testimonies and wiretapping, such as Willy Bardon’s feverishness throughout the investigation, or his flirty, outrageous behavior with women.
Obsessed with sex, “liar, manipulator”
“There is a double Willy Bardon”: one “kind, helpful”, the other “unfaithful”, obsessed with sex, “liar, manipulator”, she said, also noting her “little expressions. commons ”, used in other but disturbing contexts, such as“ ‘I am going to rape you, burn you’ ”, launched in the voice of an automaton.
The prosecution “asks you to convict on gossip, rumors, hypotheses (…) of the remarks reported”, lamented Me Marc Bailly, one of Bardon’s lawyers, addressing the jurors. “This is not evidence! “” We tell you that Willy Bardon is an ectoplasm, (…) who manages to sneak into two violent scenes, without ever leaving any DNA “, he quipped, pointing to the accused, attentive in the box.
“Inaudible tape”
Willy Bardon always said “‘It sounds like my voice, but I wasn’t there!” “, Said Me Stéphane Daquo, another defense lawyer. He underlined the “bad quality” of the tape, and its short duration, that is to say “0.7 seconds of voice” of the first speaker, “two seconds” for the other, insufficient to identify someone formally. This “inaudible tape (…) is a blurry, furtive image”, he ruled, calling on the jurors to acquit the accused, because “there is no certainty”.
The investigation was moreover “unfair, led to charge”, by investigators who ten years after the facts, “under the pressure of their hierarchy” and the media, were looking for a culprit at all costs, assured the third lawyer , Me Gabriel Dumenil. Investigators influenced detainees and witnesses with “funnel questions”. His relatives “expected to hear it,” he said. And six of the twelve witnesses called to the stand do not recognize him. Willy Bardon “had a heavy drag” but no woman has ever lodged a complaint because “it is not a sexual predator”, insisted Me Bailly. “When you take twenty years of your life (…) and coincidences, you can do what you want with them. “