Jonathann Daval, convicted in 2020 for the murder of his wife Alexia, has another meeting with the courts in Besançon on Friday, for the decision in the case of slanderous denunciation opposing him to his in-laws, which is coming as the epilogue of this singular legal saga.
The Besançon criminal court is due to rule around 8:30 a.m. The prosecution requested the release of the 40-year-old former computer scientist, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. “Again, my apologies. From now on you won’t hear from me anymore, Jonathann Daval promised his ex-in-laws at the end of the hearing on this case, on April 10.
Read also: Did Jonathann Daval commit a crime by accusing his in-laws?
During the investigation, he initially admitted to being the author of the murder of his wife, before retracting and accusing his brother-in-law Grégory Gay of having strangled Alexia, while trying to control her during a hysterical attack. The family would then have passed “a secret pact to cover up the affair”, he asserted.
“Rare Immorality”
“A lot of people told me: ‘It’s not possible, you couldn’t do it alone’. At one point we want to please them, we say yes, I couldn’t do that alone, without thinking about the consequences… And in prison, what are we trying to do? To get out of it »Jonathann Daval explained at the hearing.
Six months later, he finally admitted having lied and confessed again to the murder of his wife. He is now being sued for slanderous denunciation by Isabelle and Jean-Pierre Fouillot, Alexia’s parents, their daughter Stéphanie and her husband Grégory Gay.
While recognizing “rare immorality ” of Jonathann Daval’s accusations against his in-laws, the public prosecutor of Besançon, Étienne Manteaux, estimated during the hearing that it was “time to definitively close this Daval file on one side as well as on the other “.
“I request release, for the benefit of the doubt”, he said. “ The law and jurisprudence recognize that an accused person can lie, even if it is morally very hard. he explained, ensuring “measure all the suffering of this family who felt soiled”.
€60,000
The main complainant, Grégory Gay, reminded him of the lump in his throat “ the horror » experienced by the family: “We don’t realize the suffering and the difficulties we had to endure all this.” Ms. Fouillot, for her part, mentioned her “pain of the loss of Alexia and of this ignominy”.
“We lost Alexia, it’s already a tragedy in itself, and six months later we learn that we are accused of murder and that we are the murderers of our own daughter […] It’s beyond comprehension.” she had said.
Jonathann Daval faces five years in prison, a sentence which would be confused with his conviction for murder. His in-laws are demanding €60,000 in damages, including €30,000 for Grégory Gay, €10,000 for Alexia’s sister and €10,000 for each of the parents.
“We all hope that this will be the final Daval trial,” insisted Gilles-Jean Portejoie, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Jonathann Daval strangled his wife Alexia on the night of October 27 to 28, 2017 at their home in Gray-la-Ville (Haute-Saône). The next day, he carried her body into a wood before setting it on fire and raising the alarm, claiming that his wife had not returned from her jogging. Alexia’s body was found two days later.
For three months, Jonathann Daval had shown the face of a grieving widower in the media, before being confused in the middle of the #MeToo wave, an affair which had moved and passionate the French.
