Friendship is beautiful! Lately, in Chevannes, a small village near Montargis, in the Loiret, we no longer see Sylvain Martin without his new friend, a beekeeper named Marc (not his real name). The two men, physically, really don’t look alike. Sylvain is a tall, jovial, strong guy, with jet black hair, who doesn’t look his 70 years old; Marc, a short, 56-year-old dark-haired man, a little dry, is rather the reserved type. At first glance, you might think that they have nothing in common. That’s far from being the case. They met last December, at the Christmas market in Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, when Sylvain stopped in front of the stand where Marc was selling his honey. They talked about bees, of course, and fishing, and more generally about nature, which they both know well – Sylvain, before retiring, worked for the green spaces of the town of Nemours . In short, they discovered common tastes. They sympathized. They saw each other again. Sylvain introduced Marc to his partner, Micheline. He invited him to his home, to his pretty house of blond stones, inherited from his father, on the Chemin de la Corne de Cerf. He even offered to install beehives on his land, at a place called Le Grand Chesnoy, which the other readily accepted. This is why, since then, Marc has come so often to Chevannes, to take care of his bees and at the same time visit his friends Sylvain and Micheline. Sometimes he comes alone. Sometimes, more and more often, he comes with his wife – whom we will call Corinne to preserve her anonymity. And that’s not prudent…
His new friend is the village Don Juan
Sylvain Martin, although in his seventies, has remained extremely vital. His quiet little life with Micheline, between their vegetable garden, their chickens and their cat, is far from enough for him. He moves constantly, is active, multiplies… We see him tinkering for the neighbors, mowing the lawns, trimming the hedges, cutting wood, all this without showing the slightest fatigue. After all, Sylvain’s father died at over 100 years old, so he seems well on his way to becoming a hundred years old. When he is not working, he is regularly absent, crisscrossing the roads behind the wheel of his gray Opel Corsa to fish for trout in the local rivers. But the most astonishing thing, in a guy of his age, is this young man’s passion that he has kept, always intact, for country balls. No doubt he is a good dancer, but it is not the love of the foxtrot or the musette waltz that motivates him. In truth, Sylvain doesn’t just tease trout. Although he refrains from shouting it from the rooftops, he is an unrepentant flirt, a discreet heartthrob who wreaks havoc at village festivals.
Their beautiful friendship will soon be shattered
When did he start to be interested in Corinne, the wife of his friend Marc? We ignore it. How does he go about seducing her? We don’t know anymore. What is certain, in any case, is that the young woman, after many others, finds herself in Sylvain’s bed. Marc, all about his bees, suspects nothing. He doesn’t see the sky clouding over. His beautiful friendship will soon be shattered, like a swarm struck by lightning.
Sylvain, an old hand at adultery, takes precautions, but can such an affair be kept secret, in a corner of the countryside where everyone knows each other? The affair eventually unraveled. And on Saturday June 1st, disaster struck. Corinne, distraught, sends a message to her lover: Marc has discovered the pot of roses. He is mad with rage.
The same evening, Sylvain chose to confess everything himself to Micheline, before she learned of his misfortune from others. She takes it very badly and leaves, the next day, to take refuge with her daughter. For the retiree, the troubles have only just begun… On June 3, Marc telephones him, beside himself, to insult and threaten him. Sylvain, who has surely already had to face jealous husbands, does not let himself be impressed. He nevertheless telephones his wife, to whom he remains very attached, to keep her informed.
“I’ve seen others,” she reassures him.
It is wrong to take things lightly…
They attacked him with a sharp weapon
Shortly before 10 p.m., Micheline, worried, called him back. He doesn’t pick up. Seized with a bad feeling, she then telephones a neighbor on Chemin de la Corne de Cerf, who has a copy of her keys, and begs her to go and see what is happening… The neighbor entrusts her son with this mission. And a few minutes later, in the last light of dusk, the boy enters the property through the small rusty gate that opens onto the street. There is light in the windows. Is this a good sign? The young man crosses the courtyard and knocks on the door. Several times. No answer. He then pushes the leaf which gives way under the pressure.
A chilling, oppressive silence greets the visitor. He takes a few steps to the living room and freezes on the threshold of the room, paralyzed. What he sees before his eyes is terrible… Sylvain is lying on the tiles in a pool of blood. An unrecognizable Sylvain, whose face is nothing more than a bloody magma. One eye is gouged out, the shattered skull reveals the brain! They attacked the unfortunate man with a sharp weapon and crushed his hand with a boot, perhaps to prevent him from calling for help on his cell phone. Despite everything, he still breathes.
The murderer had taken his son with him
Very quickly, firefighters and police officers were on site. Sylvain is transported to the Orléans University Hospital, placed in an artificial coma… The police, meanwhile, hear Micheline who tells them about Sylvain’s affair with Corinne and the death threats made by Marc. The murder is signed. On Tuesday morning, the beekeeper was arrested at his home in Sens. During the search of his home, a hatchet was discovered which still bore traces of blood. The murder weapon, there’s no doubt about it. Moreover, Marc does not take long to make a full confession. Yes, the betrayal of his friend Sylvain made him mad with hatred. Yes, he threatened him with death before going to his house, armed with his hatchet, to “correct” him… Marc was not alone, he had asked his son, a 24-year-old boy, to accompany you on this crazy punitive expedition.
Indicted for murder, the man is today imprisoned in Orléans-Saran prison and remains presumed innocent. His son, who only witnessed the violence, is being prosecuted for failure to assist a person in danger. Sylvain Martin died on Sunday June 9, in the evening, without having regained consciousness. Died for having seduced the woman too many…
An investigation by Sistine Leppert.
