Gregory. A sober title that evokes one of the most famous and mysterious criminal cases since the post-war period. In this comic strip, to be published on October 3, 2024 by Les Arènes, the little boy’s father signs the preface and breaks his silence on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his son’s death.
On October 16, 1984, a 4-year-old child, Gregory Villemin, was found bound hand and foot in a river in the Vosges, the Vologne. The next day, on , an anonymous letter addressed to Jean-Marie Villemin, Gregory’s father, claimed responsibility for the murder of the little boy: “I hope you die of grief, chief. It’s not your money that can give you back your son. This is my revenge. Poor fool.”
For months the family had been harassed by anonymous letters and calls signed by a mysterious crow. As the case took on unprecedented legal and media proportions, Jean-Marie Villemin cracked 4 months later. On February 4, 1985, he shot and killed Bernard Laroche, his first cousin, who was suspected of Grégory’s murder at the time.
The chilling trial of Jean-Marie Villemin
This comic therefore focuses on the trial of Jean-Marie Villemin which was held 9 years after the tragedy, on November 3, 1993. Case after case, between the days of hearing and the return to his cell in the evening, Gregory’s father remembers the happy days. He recalls the success of his marriage, the love he has for his family and the afternoons spent playing with his son.
Throughout the pages, Jean-Marie Villemin also realizes the madness of having killed a man and unfolds the story of these multiple tragedies. At the hearing he just asks for understanding: “I had sorrow in my veins like others have alcohol.”
The authors, Pat Perna, Christophe Gaultier and Jean-Marie Villemin himself, bring back to life these days of trial in which an enigma still unresolved today hovers: who could have killed the little boy?
New expert reports ordered by the courts
As for the investigation, almost forty years after the death of little Gregory, on March 20, 2024, Justice orders new expert reports are carried out at the request of the little boy’s parents.
Christine and Jean-Marie Villemin, through their lawyers, had requested in September 2023 from the investigating chamber of the Dijon Court of Appeal a series of new DNA comparisons, as well as a request for the feasibility of voice expertise of the recordings of the crow, made on audio cassettes by the Villemin couple.
In its decision, the investigating chamber upholds part of the civil party’s requests, and including comparisons of the DNA found on the cords that surrounded the child’s bodyGregory’s anorak, his chin, but also some letters from the crow including the one from October 16, 1984, the day of his death.
The investigating chamber also ordered that a feasibility study be carried out in order to see “what can be done in terms of comparing voices with the sealed recordings of the raven’s voices”, in other words to assess whether modern techniques finally allow for identification.
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