Did the builder organize the home-jacking of the deadbeat art collector?

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It's a stormy affair involving old notes, toy guns and unpaid bills. Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the trial of three men is due to begin before the Paris Assize Court. All are involved in the home-jacking at the home of a famous art collector, Dominique Barlaud, known for exhibiting tickets signed by street artists. A fourth suspect, on the run, has still not been found.

Hit and locked up

On January 27, 2020, around three a.m., noises were heard in an apartment located in the 3rd arrondissement. The occupants of the place: the art collector Dominique Barlaud and his wife, find themselves awakened by the ramdam, and fall into a nightmare.

Facing the couple, two hooded men, equipped with headlamps and armed with pistols. They rape the two victims. The husband is beaten with a rifle butt. Several safes are opened, and the criminals fill their bags with loot. Jewelry, valuable coins and notes and money are stolen. The harm is estimated at more than 20,000 euros. The duo of thieves lock the couple in their own bathroom before fleeing.

Three men identified

Very quickly, the judicial police services were seized of the case. The investigations will bring to light two surprising elements. The first: crime was committed without break-ins. A duplicate key was used. The second: the son of the victim wife was in telephone contact with several individuals already known to the police. The cell phone of one of them was near the couple's apartment at the time of the incident.

When questioned, the victim's son has nothing to reproach himself for. These contacts took place in the context of work in his apartment. The contractor in charge of the site put him in contact with these individuals working with him. The latter, named Didier H.is not unknown in the Barlaud family. He would have had a financial dispute with the collector.

The instigating entrepreneur?

The questions will quickly be answered. Two men are arrested. For the first, Seifellah H., it's the jackpot. A part of the loot and two shot guns are discovered. The individual confesses. He would only have played the role of receiver. The two thieves gave him the loot and weapons after the incident. The second suspect will first deny any participation. He will finally confess to being one of the two hooded attackers… before retracting once again.

The motive, provided by Seifellah H., will then incriminate Didier H.. The latter would have given the accused the entry code for the building and the duplicate keys to the victim's apartment, having recovered them during previous work. He would have asked Seifellah H. to “find some guys”, to go to Dominique Barlaud, and “recover what was owed to him”.

The two accused accuse each other

The entrepreneur is then questioned. Already convicted for similar acts, he admits having given the keys and information at the request of Seifellah H.. He also thought that the keys only opened the victim's cellar. Where the version diverges is on the role of instigator. According to the entrepreneur, the financial dispute would have taken place between the victim and a brother of Seifellah H., who would have orchestrated everything. Despite confrontations, the two accused stick to their respective positions.

When questioned, the victim indicated that he had only dealt with Didier H. in the context of work. He admits not having paid for a service worth several thousand euros, the result not being what was agreed. “Stop the broken commitments, the shameless lies, to which I can add all the money you owe me personally,” Didier H. had sent the victim a year before the events.

For four days, the judges and juries will have to untangle the threads that the injured entrepreneur could have pulled. They will also have to face the trauma of the victimspsychologically marked by this theft of rare violence.

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