Tuesday, December 2, 2014, Gérard Pierre-Émile presented himself at the Fort-de-France police station to report the disappearance of his wife, Francette, 59 years old, school teacher. She left the school around 11:50 a.m., after giving a physical education lesson to a CE2 class, but she did not show up when classes resumed in the afternoon. “That’s not her habit. She’s always on time. It doesn't fit the character.” a relative will declare to the France-Antilles newspaper.
The day after the disappearance, searches were carried out. The missing woman's car was spotted in a parking lot in the town of Schoelcher, not far from the school. During the inspection, the husband notices that the driver's seat is abnormally moved back : the last user of the vehicle is a tall individual. Numerous bloodstains belonging to Francette Pierre-Émile are also detected in the trunk, some of which have been vigorously washed, making them almost invisible.
Relatives do not know of any enemies in Francette. The son indicates that her mother, however, clashed with her sister's ex-boyfriend, a certain Philippe Ponsar, manager of a security company. Alexa confirms that her mother feared her ex-boyfriend whom she describes as a violent man. He would even have been implicated a few years ago in a case of attempted rape.
It was then that a resident of Fort-de-France, who knew Francette Pierre-Émile, certified having seen her discussing with a man on Tuesday, the day of the disappearance, who could correspond to Philippe Ponsar. He is then heard as a simple witness, then taken into police custody: investigators found her DNA in the missing woman’s car. There are some on the driver's side interior handle and on the edge of the driver's seat. Philippe Ponsar denies the kidnapping, but he is indicted for kidnapping and murder, and is imprisoned.
An accident?
Finally, at the request of his new lawyers, he agrees to guide the investigators to the body of the teacher. She lies in a ravine, the lower body completely bare. The corpse, exposed to bad weather, deteriorated at high speed to such an extent that the pathologist cannot not determine the causes of death. It is also impossible to know if the mother was raped.
“By questioning those close to Francette Pierre-Émile, we begin to have a motive emerge. We realize that he has a kind of hatred for her because he wants to continue to have links with the Pierre-Émile family, even since the split with Alexa. What he manages to do with Francette's husband Pierre-Émile. She refuses, indicates Camille Desmaison-Fernandez, journalist who produced an episode of Chroniques Criminelles on this affair. And we realize that a few days before Francette's disappearance, Philippe Ponsar goes to the Pierre-Émiles and asks to be present for the Christmas celebration. Francette says no. And we could say that this disavowal will create anger within Philippe Ponsar.”
Thursday June 11, 2015, three years after the death of Francette Pierre-Émile, Philippe Ponsar gives a nineteenth version of the facts. According to him, the victim followed him home. An argument broke out. He pushed her away, she fell and was bleeding from her head. She started screaming so he gagged her before putting her in a ravine. Was she already dead by then? “Philippe Ponsar says it was an accident and that she died at his home. However, qFour days after his disappearance, Philippe Ponsar did research on the internet. In particular, he asked himself the question: “How long can a human live without water and food”. So we can only imagine that he wondered whether Francette Pierre-Émile had survived or not.”
-Monday October 15, 2018, Philippe Ponsar, 50, is before the Fort-de-France Assize Court, in Martinique. The accused still clings to the accident thesis. He will ultimately be sentenced to thirty years in prison, with twenty years of security. A year after his conviction, he was transferred to mainland France, to Fresnes prison.
Guests from “Hour of Crime”
– Camille Desmaison-Fernandez, journalist who produced an episode of Chroniques Criminelles on this affair.
– Me Dinah Rioual-Rosier, honorary lawyer who worked at the Martinique bar for 45 years, lawyer for the husband and children of Francette Pierre-Émile.
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