4 years after the events, the alleged murderer of Victorine Dartois is tried at the Isère assizes for two weeks

This Monday at 2 p.m. begins before the Isère Assize Court and for two weeks, the trial of Ludovic Bertin, 29 years old, who appeared for the kidnapping, sequestration and murder of Victorine Dartois, 18 years old, at time of the events, in Villefontaine on Saturday September 26, 2020.

That day, Victorine, an ordinary communications student who was just 18 years old, spent the afternoon shopping with friends. She misses her bus by a few minutes and decides to walk home alone. She calls her sister to say she's on her way and then nothing. Her family, not seeing her arrive, is worried. one of his sisters launched an appeal on social networks.

Victorine's body will be found in a stream, two days after her disappearance

After two days of anguish and intense searches, Victorine's body was found on Monday, near the football stadium, in a stream, with bruises on her neck and her pants down. On October 13, thanks to a relative of Ludovic Bertin in whom he had confided, the suspect was arrested by the GIGN, in a gas station in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier.

In police custody, he explains that he was jogging, that without doing so on purpose he bumped into the young girl who in return insulted him. He got angry and strangled her. On the other hand, he denies attempted rape. The victim's family, for their part, is waiting for the accused to finally tell the truth. Because she doesn't believe in the version of an aggressive Victorine. The young girl, with sunny beauty, was very religious and involved in the life of her parish.

Ludovic Bertin admits murder but not attempted rape

When Ludovic Bertin was arrested, his face was all over the press. A young woman, also named Victorine, then decided to file a complaint against him for rape. This happened on the night of September 8 to 9, 2018, in his apartment in Saint-Laurent-de-Mure, in the Rhône. The two young people had met in a nightclub in August of the same year without there having been sexual relations between them at that time. Then, they saw each other again in September. According to the young woman, Ludovic Bertin then offered to take her home. He entered her apartment and raped her, squeezing her neck. The young woman had been very frightened but, at the time, had preferred to forget.

A case within a case

Ludovic Bertin denies the facts and claims that she consented, while admitting that he no longer remembers this evening very well, because he was drunk and had taken drugs. The hearing will last two weeks. The verdict is expected on December 6. Ludovic Bertin faces life imprisonment.