At the beginning of January 2014, Micheline Grandin, 78, was found dead at her home in Draguignan (Var).
The victim showed numerous signs of violence but his murderer was never identified.
The Nanterre public prosecutor’s office announces that this cold case has just been clarified.
It was one of her friends who, on January 12, 2014, raised the alarm. That day, she showed up at the home of Micheline Grandin, 78, on the 5th floor of a building located at 277 boulevard Marcel Pagnol in Draguignan (Var) because the two women had planned to spend some time together.
Pushing the door, the guest found the septuagenarian lying in a pool of blood. The victim also showed multiple traces of violence. Immediately alerted, the police went to the site to carry out surveys and findings. And very quickly, the investigators realized that the victim’s handbag had disappeared, thus favoring the theory of a villainous crime.
However, despite the numerous investigations carried out over the days, months and then years, the crime will never be elucidated… Until last week.
The accused had already been taken into police custody
This Tuesday, the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office indicates that this murder dates back more than ten years “was the subject of a judicial investigation opened on January 30, 2014.” The Draguignan investigating judge then relinquished responsibility in favor of the National Center for Serial or Unsolved Crimes (PCSNE) on August 23, 2022 and “Emmanuelle Ducos, vice-president in charge of instruction at the PCSNE, was appointed following a request dated October 27, 2022”he explains.
“The re-exploitation of the seals ordered by the latter made it possible to redirect the investigations towards a member of the victim’s entourage (aged 18 at the time of the facts, editor’s note) at the time of his death, already suspected in 2014 but not prosecuted given the alibi he had provided”details the parquet.
On June 4, this suspect was arrested in an unspecified town. Now aged 28, he was once again placed in police custody. “At the end of his hearings in this context, he was brought before the investigating magistrate, indicted on the charge of murder of a vulnerable person and presented to the judge of freedoms and detention who placed him under a criminal committal warrant. “details the Nanterre parquet floor.
According to RTL which revealed the resolution of this cold case, it was new DNA analyzes ordered on the seals which made it possible to identify the genetic fingerprint of the accused under the victim’s nails.
