In 1985, Alec Jeffreys discovered the possibility of establishing genetic profiles. DNA is still far from being relevant at the time of the Grégory case. On the other hand, in criminal cases, investigators use laboratories that can perform tests to determine a blood group or Rhesus. In some so-called secretory individuals (around 80% of the population), blood groups can be established not only with their blood but also from bodily fluids such as sweat, semen or saliva.
On July 24, 1985, Judge Lambert asked Christine Villemin for her consent to take a blood sample to establish her blood type, and to compare it with the saliva present on the stamp of the crime letter (October, 16). Christine Villemin accepts, but Judge Lambert will not follow up on this request. This first attempt at the study of the stamp will be followed by many others, but more than 15 years after the fact.
Techniques for establishing a genetic profile have evolved considerably over the past 20 years. Following this development, the lawyers of Grégory's parents will request three times, between November 1999 and June 2010, new analyzes of the seals.
On November 25, 1999, the reopening of the investigation file was requested by Jean-Marie and Christine Villemin's lawyer, Me Thierry Moser. This calls for a search for DNA traces on the stamps on the envelopes and on the letters sent by the crow.
On April 19, 2000, the prosecutor of the Republic of Dijon, Hélène Magliano ordered the reopening of the investigation. The indictment chamber follows the conclusions of the public prosecutor and meets on May 17 to study the case. The hope of knowing the truth is revived by the analysis of the DNA present on a half-stamp of 2.6 cm by 1.1 cm which could have preserved the saliva of the "raven" on the letter posted on April 27 1983 and sent to the grandparents at their home in Bruyères (the crow's claim letter of October 16, 1984 cannot be analyzed, as the Dijon public prosecutor had initially wished). On June 14, 2000, the indictment chamber of the Dijon Court of Appeal delivered its judgment, authorizing the reopening of the investigation. During the summer of 2000, the experts from the laboratory in molecular biology of the Nantes University Hospital therefore examined the half-stamp.
These analyzes were unsuccessful, the DNA mixture proving to be unusable, after the comparison of these traces with the samples of the 280 people registered in the file. On October 17, the scientific report, ordered in June, explains that the traces of DNA "cannot be interpreted", "probably due to the various manipulations of the envelope since 1983 and / or to the conditions of conservation of the seals". The conclusions are set out by Me Thierry Moser, parents' lawyer, and Me Joël Lagrange, grandparents' lawyer. On April 11, 2001, the indictment chamber of the Dijon Court of Appeal, considering that "there is no need to prosecute anyone", closed the investigation of the case with a dismissal decision, which sets the prescription for April 11, 2011.
2008: reopening of the investigation
On October 25, 2006, Murielle Bolle's lawyers requested that the investigation be reopened. The prosecutor of the Republic of Dijon, Hélène Magliano, considering that "there is no new charge for this reopening", rejects the request on January 9, 2007.
On July 9, 2008, at the request of the child's parents, the Attorney General of the Dijon Court of Appeal announced that he required the reopening of the judicial investigation concerning the murder of the boy in order to carry out new tests on DNA, deemed unusable in 2000, and which could have been left by the "crow" on a stamp. On December 3, 2008, the Dijon Court of Appeal ordered the investigation to be reopened.
2009: new DNA analyzes
On October 22, 2009, the expertise carried out by the Lyon laboratory Biomnis, revealed the presence of two different DNAs on the mail sent by "the raven" to Albert Villemin, Grégory's grandfather, in July 1985, that is, nine months after the discovery of the body, which are those of a man and a woman and are not those of the parents of Grégory. The case will be reopened, and the protagonists of the case heard again. The DNA analyzes made on the letter from the raven sent to the Villemin do not give any result. Indeed, the traces identified do not correspond to any of the 150 protagonists of the case.
The laboratory in charge of these expertises concluded only that none of the profiles established within the framework of this mission emerged from the mixtures present on the cords, on the clothes and on the envelopes, in the absence of obvious correlation between the profiles of all the people studied with the mixtures present on the seals, absence of correlation attributed to an insufficiency of biological material on the seals examined, a loss of biological material on the clothes and cords that have remained in the water and contamination of the seals, excessively manipulated by third parties. These seals were therefore not usable.
2010: new investigations
The forensic science decided to analyze more thoroughly the phone calls made to the family. The Villemin spouses, however, request a new DNA analysis, a request that has been postponed several times by the courts.
On October 20, 2010, Jean-Marie Beney, the Attorney General of the Dijon Court of Appeal, ordered that justice reopen the investigation for "the analysis of the hair found on the pants of little Grégory", "the analysis of the knot of the cords” having been used to tie him, “the comparison of the recordings of the voice of the crow and the voices of the various protagonists of the case”, “the search for fingerprints on the sticky parts of the envelopes” and "the search for traces of treading on October, 16 letter".
2012-2013: new DNA analyzes and other expertises
Me Thierry Moser, lawyer for the Villemin spouses, declared to the press, on September 1, 2012, that the expertise of the voice of the crow, preserved on audio cassettes now digitized, will now be possible: “The gendarmes of the IRCGN, after consulting the technicians, replied that the expertise can be attempted despite the difficulties of
feasibility”, the new survey consisting in comparing the voice of the crow with the recordings made by journalists during reports.
Le Parisien revealed on April 16, 2013 that the DNA profiles of ten people would have been isolated on the cords used to hinder little Grégory Villemin. It would now be necessary to identify these profiles by comparing them with the genetic samples taken during the investigation as well as with the DNA file. A judicial source, however, calls for caution: “During all these years, these seals were often manipulated. The DNA traces may belong to a magistrate or an investigator… ”.
On April 24, 2013, the Attorney General of the Dijon Court of Appeal, Jean-Marie Beney, announced that the new DNA expertises carried out on the clothes and cords of Grégory Villemin did not allow to identify the DNA of any of the protagonists of the case. Likewise, while analysis of the audio recordings does reveal the voices of a man and a woman, it does not identify a specific person. The prosecutor adds that there is “still hope as the case is not closed. But, from a scientific point of view, hope is fading”.
The innocence of Bernard Laroche came out reaffirmed from these expertises for the lawyer of his family. According to Me Thierry Moser, one of the lawyers for the parents of the victim, “the chances of reaching the manifestation of the truth are receding. However, the legal fight is far from over”, because “there are still avenues to be explored and investigations to be carried out”.
According to Me Marie-Christine Chastant-Morand, "all scientific hope is not lost". According to her, “Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin helped Grégory get dressed, the nanny also helped him. So we should have found their DNA on Grégory's clothes ”, which does not seem to be the case. "Consequently, if the DNA of those who touched the clothes were not found, the DNA of the assassin could also not be found" concludes Me Chastant-Morand.
Wednesday January 27, 2021
Justice has ruled on the request formulated by the parents of Grégory Villemin. The investigative chamber of the Dijon Court of Appeal authorizes new genetic expertise, in particular the search for "kinship DNA".
These expertises should take several months.
Among the new methods, accepted by the courts, the search for "kinship DNA". This method makes it possible to link a genetic fingerprint with others from the same family and listed in the National Automated DNA File (FNAEG). Grégory's parents and their lawyers demanded that these investigations relate to nine unknown DNA traces, taken from anonymous mail, a syringe and the child's clothes.
The court also accepted DNA samples from 37 people who were more or less close to Grégory and their comparison with different genetic profiles. Another approach validated by justice, the establishment of a "genetic robot portrait", which would determine the color of the hair or eyes of a suspect.
This decision is very positive, affirms Me Marie-Christine Chastant-Morand: "We are very satisfied. I had Jean-Marie Villemin this morning, he is in unison with me, he is very satisfied".
On France Bleu Lorraine, Me Rémi Stéphan, lawyer for Marie-Ange Laroche, expressed his skepticism about the possibility of finding "36 years after the tragedy, indisputable evidence" and called for caution. The preservation of evidence and the quality of DNA traces may be questionable, so long after the fact. The widow of Bernard Laroche, once accused of the crime and then killed by Jean-Marie Villemin, asks that "this media trial" stop.
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