The trial of Jérôme Tonneau is being held until the end of the week before the Douai Assize Court.
He is accused of having kidnapped and killed his ex-partner, Nathalie Debaillie, in May 2019, near Lille.
The magazine “Sept à Huit” investigated this case in which the victim’s relatives sued the State for lack of protection.
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Seven to eight
Four is the number of reports and complaints filed at the police station by Nathalie Debaillie in the three months preceding her murder. Jérôme Tonneau, her ex-partner, whom she had left in February, is accused of having abducted her on May 27, 2019, around 8:30 a.m., with the help of accomplices in the underground parking lot of her workplace. Before tying her up, gagging her and forcing her into a van.
The victim, wrapped in a sheet, was then taken to Jérôme Tonneau’s bathtub. The latter then allegedly took his credit card, going down from his apartment to withdraw money: 300 euros for each accomplice, leaving quickly once the tickets were in his pocket. Finding himself alone with his ex-partner, the 53-year-old man then allegedly slit her throat with a box cutter.
At 12:30 p.m., nearly four hours after being notified of her abduction, the police discovered the body of Nathalie Debaillie. The alleged criminal had disappeared. Two days later, he reappeared, dazed. Arrested while he was on his way home, Jérôme Tonneau was taken into custody and admitted the facts. His three accomplices, presumed members of the Roma community, were also arrested.
Harassed for months
Nathalie Debaillie, 47 years old and a bank executive, had been divorced since 2010 from the father of her children. In 2016, she met a certain Jérôme, divorced and father of two children, on the Internet. “We are at the table, with Romain, my brother, we were talking about everything and nothing and she told us that she had met someone”confides Florine, his daughter, in the report of “Sept à Huit” to be found at the top of this article.At the time, with my brother, we were happy, we said to ourselves that he wasn’t someone who was acting sullen, he wasn’t a bad person, that he seemed quite in good shape, festive and good fun”.
Former hypermarket director, Nathalie’s new companion manages laundromats in the Lille region and gradually imposes himself in her life and in her house, where he initiates important developments. “It’s not his project, but he’s very convincing, he tells her that she shouldn’t worry about the financier, basically that they love each other, everything is fine. He brought in the companies, he took matters in hand and she let herself be carried away, always telling him that in any case this work was not his project, it was not within his means”says Cindy, a friend of Nathalie.
My sister was a very square, very upright person, she had never done anything illegal so it was something that escaped her, that scared her, she couldn’t stand it.
Nicolas, brother of Nathalie Debaillie
In her enlarged house, she improvises a party with her neighbors. A party after which she will discover another disturbing side of her new companion.The police arrive at his house for a story of a fake carjacking that he had tried to fake to get the insurance money. My sister doesn’t understand what’s happening. She was completely unaware of this fake carjacking story.”explains his brother, Nicolas Debaillie. “We are people who never cross except at the zebra crossing. My sister was a very square, very upright person, she had never done anything illegal so it was something that escaped her, that scared her, she couldn’t stand it.”. It was from this moment that she decided to leave him.
In February 2019, Nathalie Debaillie cut ties definitively by saying: “Now you give me back the keys to my house”. Jérôme Tonneau then begins to harass her and those close to her, pretending to be a victim. Worried, the 47-year-old woman filed a first complaint for harassment at the police station in her town, Marcq-en-Barœul, on February 11, 2019. Less than a month later, she filed a second complaint at the same police station.
“A crook doesn’t take action”
The threats continued. On the evening of March 8, 2019, Nathalie was contacted by a friend of Jérôme Tonneau, who discussed the 30,000 euros that her ex-partner was demanding from her for the work done on his house. She recorded the conversation.He told me ‘if I don’t have my 30,000 euros, I’ll kill her’. I’m afraid for you, I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid.” The next day, Nathalie filed a complaint at the Lille police station for repeated death threats. She mentioned the confidences she had received. She was accompanied by her friend Cindy, a lawyer, who attended the interview with the police officer. “He told us “Don’t worry, he’s a crook. A crook doesn’t act. Be careful, but hey, you don’t risk much.”
Police officers’ ethical breaches highlighted
The victim’s relatives now believe that the police failed, first of all on the day of the murder. According to the family’s lawyer, the police did not act quickly enough after being alerted to the kidnapping. An administrative investigation by the IGPN, the police force, concluded that the Lille police officers had acted professionally and quickly, but still judged that a more experienced service should have been contacted from the start of the kidnapping. Another question arises: why did the complaint filed by Nathalie Debaillie at the Lille police station have no effect? It should have been sent to the prosecutor, which was not the case. No action was taken and Jérôme Tonneau was therefore never summoned.
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On this point, another IGPN investigation concluded that there were ethical and professional breaches within the Lille police station. Two police officers received a reprimand and a warning, the weakest sanctions. But the victim’s family wants to go further. They have filed a summons against the State for failure to protect. A hearing is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Last week at the trial which opened in Douai, the attorney general took a first step towards recognizing the State’s responsibility by speaking to Nathalie Debaillie’s brother. She stressed that the police services like the prosecution had reorganized following this tragedy. The trial continues until Friday July 5. Jérôme Tonneau risks life imprisonment.
