“September 21 was his son’s 11th birthday. We had to go see him. His only gift was learning of his mother's death. » Aurélien's throat tightens. His voice breaks. It's not easy to talk about the death of a partner. Even less when we saw her die before his eyes.
Thursday, September 19, in the evening, Cécilia Hubert was shot and killed. His companion and the man who admitted to having shot him – he has since been indicted for murder – tried to take him to the hospital in Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée). In vain. “Every night I go to sleep and see the images. I see the moment he shot her. I see the hole in his body. »
“Investigations were able to determine that, following an argument in the vehicle, the second man, the driver, stopped, took out a weapon and used it to the detriment of the victim,” explained the public prosecutor, Sarah Huet, in a press release. Facts which had occurred, once again, against a backdrop of alcohol.
A couple with difficult life journeys
But Cécilia Hubert is not just a news item. So Aurélien agreed to testify to pay him a last tribute. The forty-year-old describes a woman « lumineuse » , « empathetic » et “Entière » . « She saw a guy begging in the street, she gave him €2. This is who Cécilia was,” he summarizes.
He met this woman for the first time when she was 19 years old. He was 21. “We loved each other straight away. I moved in with her for four months. We lived with his parents. Then life separated us. » Cécilia met the father of her children. Aurélien, the mother of his family. And their lives began to unravel.
“Cécilia’s guy was drinking. He hit him in the face. She took the kids to school with rascals. They ended up taking them away from him,” he whispers. For his part, Aurélien spent several years on the street. Each time following a separation. “I was sleeping outside near the station, with my dog. I went through two years of hell. »
“It’s as if we had repaired each other”
In 2024, the mother is separated from her violent partner. The forty-year-old has found a certain stability with a new partner. When life decides to bring them together again. “I was going to a party with friends. I didn't know she was invited. When we saw each other, we fell out. We turned red. It was obvious. »
A few days later, he received a message from Cécilia Hubert: “It was funny to see you again. » “I thought about her every day, but I didn’t dare call her. The fear of a guy in love. I decided to go see her on June 15 and, from then on, I never left. Like the first time, twenty years ago. Until the day this bastard arrived. »
For four months, Aurélien and Cécilia had perfect love. “She was me, I was her. She said something, I finished her sentence. We looked at each other, we knew what the other was thinking. It was as if two parts that were one were broken and we had repaired each other. »
Aurélien intends to become a civil party to the trial
The two forty-year-olds had found work and were due to move to Coëx in October. “She hoped to have her children back soon, the educators were really optimistic. We had everything to be happy. » The fall is all the harder for the father of the family.
“We've had so much shit in our lives. I told myself that we deserved it, this love. » Destroyed by the death of his partner, Aurélien admits to having a desire for revenge. “I couldn’t do anything to protect her, it haunts me. »
So he decided to hire a lawyer and become a civil party with a view to a trial which will come in many months. “I don’t want it to come out after ten years. It must take fifteen or twenty years. »
In the meantime, he tries to move forward, alone, without a psychologist, with the memory of Cécilia as his driving force. “We were very focused on spirituality. In the evening, I talk to him. I hope she hears me. »
