Four-year-old boys great uncle and aunt have been arrested and placed under investigation three decades after his death. Christine was finally cleared eight years later and all charges against her dropped. Gregory Villemin: Three held in 1984 French child murder mystery For years his parents Jean-Marie and Christine Villemin had received threatening letters and phone calls. What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Wheel of Fortune' Gets Awkward as Pat Sajak Snaps at Contestant for Grabbing Wheel: "Don't Touch That", 'Jeopardy!' At 5.30pm that day, Gregory's uncle Michel received an anonymous phone. At 5.30pm that day, Gregory's uncle Michel received an anonymous phone call saying that Gregory had been kidnapped and dumped in the Vologne River. Events took a surprising turn in 2017 when three arrests were made based on new evidence: Gregory's great-uncle, his great-aunt, and his aunt by marriage. The recent detective work, he said, is monumental, and of high quality. Meanwhile, the police turned their focus to Gregory's mother, Christine, who was then heavily pregnant. His hands and feet were bound with rope and his face covered with a wool hat. Judge Lambert commits suicide in 2017 admitting in a letter that Gregory's case had haunted him. True Crime on Netflix: Grgory - France Today PodcastOne: Gregory Villemin Mr Lambert had admitted making mistakes and the case was reopened last month when new evidence came to light. She was freed after an appeals court cited flimsy evidence and the absence of a coherent motive. Potentially vital evidence would later be thrown out. In a suicide note he said he feared that reopening the case would discredit his own findings years earlier. Threatening letters have been sent from the victims own village, suggesting both a brazen willingness to be caught and the ominous feeling, referenced on the day of the funeral, that the killer might be among them. Suddenly, the handwriting experts saw similarities to the letter sent by "The Crow." Browse 698 gregory villemin stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. In July 1985, Christine Villemin was charged with the murder. A former judge who played a leading part in one of France's biggest murder inquiries has been found dead at home with a plastic bag over his head. His body was later found in the Vologne river to the horror of his parents. The whole Jacob family had a longstanding hatred for the Villemin clan which their sister/aunt had married into. Few cases beyond the disappearance of. Join the newsletter to get updates monthly straight to your email, and win one of 10 free books. Jean-Michel Lambert, centre, taking part in the crime scene reconstruction after Grgory Villemin was found dead in the river in Lpanges-sur-Vologne. Sex and Skin: None. Thats why the investigators believed that Bernard had something to do with the murder, as well as other family members. hortly after 5.30pm on 16 October 1984, Christine Villemin abandoned her ironing in the newly built chalet that she and her husband, Jean-Marie, had moved into just over a year earlier, and stepped outside. The next day, Gregorys father, Jean-Marie, received an anonymous letter from the same person saying, I hope you die of grief, boss. "This is my vengeance, a--hole.". Grgory Villemin's body was found with his hands and feet bound in the Vologne river in the north-east of France on 16 October 1984. . Netflix's official description for the documentary says: "When their 4-year-old son is murdered, a young couple fights a twisting and arduous battle trying to identify a frustratingly elusive killer.". Another read: I hate you so much, the day you die I will spit on your grave. The ugliest was the one that arrived the day after Grgorys murder: I hope you die of grief, boss. poison-pen letters and false leads, and his killer has . Christine was charged with murdering her son in 1985, but was cleared of charges in 1993 due to the failure of the prosecution to find a coherent motive to killing her son. Jean-Maries cousin, Bernard Laroche, was the first person implicated in the crime by handwriting experts. Some family members were unhappy about it. The little boy's mother, Christine Villemin, told police that her son was playing in the front yard of their home when he vanished. Gregory Villemin Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images At 5:30 pm, Gregorys uncle Michel Villemin informed the family he had just been told by an anonymous caller that the boy had been taken and thrown into theVologne River. Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Something went wrong, please try again later. Freed after an 11-day hunger strike, Grgorys mother was not fully cleared for eight years, when the case against her was dismissed as utterly without charge. Freed after an 11-day hunger strike, Grgorys mother was not fully cleared for eight years, when the case against her was dismissed as utterly without charge. The most atrocious part of this case is that he was perhaps thrown into the water alive! Given the many twists and turns this investigation has taken over the years including a second murder its not surprising that the case continues to capture the publics attention. No one had seen her son. Grgory Villemin was four when his body was found in the Vologne river. In December 2008, following an application by the Villemins, a judge ordered the case reopened to allow DNA testing of the rope used to bind Grgory, the letters, and other evidence. She tells police Laroche collected her from school before picking up a "little boy she had never seen before" and dropping him off at another location. Prosecutor Jean-Jacques Bosc said at the time that he is certain more than one person is responsible for Gregorys homicide. He was in his first job when given the task of investigating the 1984 murder of four-year-old Grgory Villemin. HART FAMILY MURDERS: On 26 March 2018, a murder-suicide took place when Jennifer and Sarah Hart murdered their 6 adopted children by driving the family's sport utility vehicle off a cliff in Mendocino County, CA. She doubled down on proclaiming her and Laroche's innocence and blamed the police for her original testimony. Some family members were unhappy about it. She has rejected investigators firm belief and the testimony of a cousin that she was bullied by the family into retracting her 1984 statement incriminating her brother-in-law. 2023 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. Let us know in the comments below. It is 36 years since the lifeless body of Grgory Villemin, who disappeared while playing in the garden of his home, was found in a river in France's eastern Vosges region, his hands and feet. Jean-Marie Villemin vowed in front of the press that he would kill Laroche. His sister-in-law also claimed that he was involved in the killing, though she later recanted her testimony. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. New arrests made in relation to Gregory Villemin murder The next month on November 5th, Bernard Laroche, a cousin of Grgorys father Jean-Marie Villemin, was implicated in the murder by handwriting experts and by a statement from Laroches sister-in-law Murielle Bolle, and taken into custody. 1,701, This story has been shared 1,282 times. Not only was this person threatening revenge against the family, specifically the child's father Jean-Marie, but they also had intimate knowledge of the extended family. Grgory Villemin was found dead in October 1984 in the Vologne river in eastern France. To summarize, in 1984, a young boy was kidnapped and murdered in The story is obviously quite somber, but the pacing of the documentary, pairing archival footage with interviews and voiceovers, is brisk and tightly produced. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? On his gravestone, his family wrote: "Here rests Bernard Laroche, an innocent victim of blind hatred.". Villemin was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime. The boys great aunt and uncle, Marcel and Jacqueline Jacob, aged 72 and 73, were arrested in June and placed under formal investigation for kidnapping and confinement followed by death. While there have been plenty of suspects and arrests, no one has ever been convicted for the murder. 2023 BBC. Days later another relative, Murielle Bolle, 15 at the time of the murder, was detained and similarly charged. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. This is a well-made piece of television, not just a throwaway crime-channel program. The caseof who killed Gregory Villemin has gripped France for 30 years. Father Jean-Marie Villemins success as a factory foreman is referenced in a letter left by the murderer on the death of the childs death I have taken the bosss child, it notes. Her husband was also questioned. Our Call: STREAM IT. The following month Jean-Michel Lambert, who was the investigating magistrate in charge of the first administration, committed suicide. He turned himself in immediately, and would not be released from jail until late 1987. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Police opened an investigation into the former judge's death at his home in Le Mans, Grgory Villemin was found drowned in a river a few kilometres from his home, Jean-Michel Lambert later conceded he had not given the murder case his full attention, Christine Villemin (third from left) was for years wrongly blamed for the murder, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. It was getting chilly. But in November, Bernard Laroche, a cousin of Jean-Marie, was arrested and charged with murder. The aftermath of this terrible crime disturbed the . Murder of Grgory Villemin - Wikipedia In June 2017, Bolles cousin Patrick Faivre told police that Bolles family had physically abused Bolle in 1984 and pressurized her to recant her initial testimony against Bernard Laroche. Ever since, he and Christine had been plagued by anonymous phone calls, from a person clearly familiar with details of their lives that only a relative could know. Police subsequently question Marcel and Jaqueline Jacob, Gregory's great aunt and uncle as well as Murielle Bolle but they are freed over procedural issues. The identity of Grgory Villemin's killer remains a mystery Mehaniq/Shutterstock BBC News reports the aunt and uncle, who are both in their 70s, are suspected of complicity in Grgory's abduction and murder, failing to report a crime, and failing to help a person who was in danger. Gregory was playing outside the house that October day in 1984, around sunset, when he was abducted. That same month, three other members of the child's extended family were also arrested. 1.2k votes, 293 comments. One of them was that Christine drowned her son and then fooled police and the public with the taunting letters. The Killer Of 4-Year-Old Grgory Villemin Remains A Mystery Decades Search instead in Creative? 4,359, This story has been shared 3,709 times. Who Killed Little Gregory? It was reopened, for further forensic analyses, in 2008 and 2010, but again with no concrete results. Further testing was done in 2008 on the rope, letters, and other evidence, but also proved inconclusive. Ill tell you later, right before the credits roll. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? That same year, the magistrate leading the investigation, Jean-Michel Lambert, committed suicide and cited the pressure resulting from the re-opening of the case in a suicide note. More than 100 witnesses were also interviewed and some 12,000 separate pieces of evidence run through an advanced artificial intelligence programme, AnaCrim, that locates potential suspects at given moments and uncovers inconsistencies in statements and alibis. From the beginning, suspicion fell on the family of the boys father, 26, whose parents, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins all lived nearby. Your money cant give you back your son. Picture of Gregory Villemin. It was on 16 October 1984 that Grgory Villemin's body was found and a magistrate opened what became one of the biggest mysteries in French criminal history. Grgory Villemin was found drowned in a river a few kilometres from his home A couple in their 70s and a woman have been detained for questioning by police, 32 years after a crime that horrified. After more than three decades, laffaire du petit Grgory may finally be ready to yield its secrets. October 23, 2022 7:09 pm Grgory Villemin, a four-year-old French boy who was abducted from the front yard of his home in a small village called Vosges, in France, on 16th October of 1984. It will take eight years for Villemin to be cleared of all wrongdoing. Little news has been heard in the "Grgory affair" since police said in 2013 that DNA tests had brought the investigation no further. His hands and feet were bound with rope and a woolen hat had been pulled down over his face. Shortly after 5.30pm on 16 October 1984, Christine Villemin abandoned her ironing in the newly built chalet that she and her husband, Jean-Marie, had moved into just over a year earlier, and stepped outside. Grgory Villemin (24 August 1980 - 16 October 1984) was a French boy from Lpanges-sur-Vologne, Vosges, who was abducted from his home and murdered at the age of four.