a book to understand “The major criminal cases in Périgord”

Iworn out his pants on the benches allocated to the press in the courtrooms and spent countless hours gleaning information from the smallest gendarmerie. It is therefore not surprising that former journalist Dominique Richard has devoted a new book to the major criminal cases of Périgord (1).

The former police/justice columnist for “Sud Ouest” had already dealt with it in a previous work, co-signed with Anne-Marie Siméon, entitled “Le Roman noir du Périgord”. “I reworked on each of the cases by collecting additional documentation after the first book,” slips Dominique Richard. A letter, testimonies or documents which allow us to find out more about the last moments of Admiral Plato or Sister Philomène.

National resonance

Dominique Richard also discusses at length the case that marked his career, the murder of Laurent Bureau at the Bertran-de-Born gymnasium, in Périgueux, one night in May 1986. “It’s a case that I followed throughout. course, for eleven years. It reveals the dysfunctions of justice and it shows the tenacity of a policeman [Jean-François Abgrall] to flush out, despite the obstacles of his hierarchy, a serial killer. » In his work, the former journalist also evokes more recent tragedies: the defenestration of little Laly, 8 years old, by a school friend, in 2015, or the ordeal of Edith Muhr, tortured then cut up in 2009 .

“This department has always experienced extraordinary cases”

“Many cases have had national resonance and others still have resonance today,” insists Dominique Richard. This is the case, of course, of the double murder of Saussignac. In September 2004, farmer Claude Duviau shot dead two labor inspectors while carrying out their duties. This crime shook the rural world and is still part of many discussions during agricultural demonstrations…

How to interpret it?

Same contemporary character when we talk about the active euthanasia of Paulette Druais, in 2003 – and the trials which followed -, the bill on the end of life wanted by the President of the Republic having been postponed indefinitely. “This episode had a big impact on me,” concedes the former journalist. I met caregivers who spoke of the difficulties they encounter in supporting people at the end of the journey. »

Dominique Richard continues: “I could have mentioned the Hautefaye massacre [1870]but there has already been a lot written on the subject. This department has always experienced extraordinary cases. » The specialist in news items finds no rational explanation there. “I am from Corrézien and I worked in Gironde or Lot-et-Garonne; but it was in Dordogne that I noticed latent violence. How to interpret it? I am not an anthropologist. »

(1) “The major criminal cases in Périgord, from 1940 to the present day”, La Geste, 18 euros.