He answers at great length, but does not “explain” his “barbarism.” Before a court in the Paris region on Wednesday, a 70-year-old pensioner gave a detailed account of the murder of his partner, whose body was found dismembered and charred in a forest in 2017.
On August 31, 2017, parts of burned bodies were discovered on a pedestrian walkway in Vernouillet, about forty kilometers west of Paris.
It will be almost two years before investigators are able to identify her in May 2019: The victim is a 67-year-old woman who was reported missing by her companion on October 16, 2017.
On the day of the crime, she “went into a mad phase,” says the accused, and tried to strangle him during a “fight.” He says he then “grabbed his throat” in return.
“Then I didn’t feel his breath anymore (…) I had a moment of amazement. I didn’t call the Samu. I didn’t do the first aid gestures,” he continues.
“Have you thought of calling the police?” asks the President.
“I made a choice. I couldn’t bear to lose my family’s respect. I made a choice, I made the wrong choice. (…) The decision to make my companion’s body disappear,” repeated Philippe Marchand.
The defendant said he dismembered the victim’s body with a knife and saw, “a horrific operation that lasted nearly four hours,” he says.
Philippe Marchand sighs, says his “remorse”. “I was very shocked by what I did. I have never been violent, I have always been respectful, especially towards women. I cannot explain this barbarism.
In the black sweater in the box, his hand clasped around the microphone, the former taxi driver told in detail about his romantic relationship he had since the end of 2015 with this “kind” and “elegant” woman, to whom he “succumbed” to the charm immediately ‘, after the libertine evening on which he had met her.
A few months later they had moved in together. “It was idyllic in the first few weeks, then it degenerated very quickly because of her behavior,” explains the accused, who describes her as “very jealous” and “hysteriform disorders”.
“Hysterical? NO. I always thought she was depressed,” said the victim’s son in the morning when questioned by the court about the date.
Hospitalized several times, the sixty-year-old suffered from “depressive relapses”, according to an expert.
On Monday, a policewoman in the bar said the defendant, after reporting the disappearance of his companion, called his office several times to inquire about the further investigation.
Mr Marchand also admitted to texting himself and members of his family from the victim’s phone after his death.
The pensioner is also suspected of using the victim’s bank accounts for more than a year, from which more than 28,000 euros were withdrawn.
A friend of the accused, who has met him “for 60 years”, described a man on Monday who, since his retirement, “liked to change wives, have extramarital relationships”. He added that he was “surprised and appalled by the facts” at the time of his arrest.
According to the investigation, Philippe Marchand had been in a relationship with another woman since July 2016. He repeatedly called himself “in love” with the victim and also stated that she wanted to “capture” him.
The verdict is expected on Friday.