The representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Eric Haeffele, requested a five-year prison sentence, including three years suspended probation, and a committal warrant against Josiane S., 68, prosecuted for abuse of weakness. He also requested the confiscation of all of his property seized as part of the investigation.
The magistrate denounced a “method known in the sectarian field”, that which consists of “isolating the victim”, whose two expert opinions pointed out the “particular vulnerability”, after the mourning of his mother, who died in 2001 when she was not He was only eleven years old, then that of his grandmother, who died in 2008.
It was this grandmother, Arlette, who made Cléophée the sole heir to the Schlumpf fortune: more than 11 million euros from an industrial empire founded by the Fritz brothers – her grandfather -, and Hans, collapsed in 1976. Arlette was Fritz’s widow.
“It is in this context that” Josiane S. will take advantage of the “emotional void” of Cléophée, who has experienced anorexia and depression, “to establish herself as a surrogate mother” and lead a “sumptuous lifestyle” with the desire to “capture the heritage” of the young woman, pointed out Eric Haeffele.
“Not credible”
Concerning his two daughters, Mathilde H., 33 years old, and Julia H., 40 years old, prosecuted for concealment of abuse of weakness, he requested the same sentence: 18 months in prison, including 12 probationary suspension and six months adjustable.
He considered their position, presented in the morning, “not credible”, according to which they had not realized anything, in particular Cléophée’s state of weakness and vulnerability. “It’s hard to believe that they don’t worry about anything,” said the prosecutor. They will also have to compensate the victim.
The lawyers of the two sisters, who dispute the facts, pleaded for acquittal, pointing out the responsibility of their mother.
We are talking about an inheritance of 11 million euros but the investigation only counts 5 million missing, questioned Hervé Bégeot, Mathilde’s advisor. “This concerns no one” during the investigation, he lamented, putting forward the hypothesis that Cléophée’s father, who died in 2021, was also able to “spend” money, “perhaps with other people.
Earlier, Cléophée, who is now a waitress and earns “between 1200 and 1300 euros” per month, spoke at the bar. “Justice will be done (…) the bad guy is behind me,” insisted the young woman.
Being there, “it’s revenge for me. I rebuilt myself, I had ups and downs, I understood real life,” continued the mother of a little boy in a confident voice. for which she “(fights)”.
Psychological weakness
For their part, the three defendants contested the alleged facts. Josiane, presented during the investigation as her “surrogate mother”, thus claims to have noticed nothing of Cléophée’s psychological weakness.
Ample black dress, surgical mask on her face, supported by crutches, she tries to minimize her relationship with Cléophée, maintaining that she was “not so much” close to her, but rather, “friendly”, to her father , Patrick Herrmann, who maintained distant ties with his daughter.
Faced with President Morgane Robitaillie, who reviews her expenses and her opulent lifestyle, Josiane responds with confidence but struggles to convince.
Mathilde and Julia, who notably benefited from an interest-free loan of 150,000 euros each for an apartment and numerous luxury gifts, also assured that they never perceived Cléophée’s fragility. No more Julia than Mathilde, very close to Cléophée in middle school, but who says she lost sight of her in high school.
