Sunday September 9, 2018, Denise Le Pohon’s son went to the maternal pavilion in Brétigny-sur-Orge, near Paris. Inside, it’s dead calm, until he discovers in the room his inert 79 year old mother. She wears a bloody wound on the back of the head and many Bruises are visible on his body. She is transported unconscious at the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital.
Very quickly, the hypothesis of a domestic accident recedes to make way for the burglary gone wrong. A carpenter’s hammer was found in the bathroom, next to the pair of glasses. the victim who died seven weeks later. However, it is impossible to say with certainty whether the blows received led to death.
The deceased was the older sister of the successful writer Irène Frain. “I had the impression that all this was not taken seriously. We presented my sister like a crazy old woman. What’s more, the autopsy spoke of “natural death”. We had to fight to prove that she had indeed died following the blows received,” the writer told the newspaper. The Parisian.
Monday December 10, 2018, the Evry prosecutor, Caroline Nisand, indicates that this homicide is a priority case. The death of the old lady is part of a long series of similar attacks. In total, nine attacks and kidnappings are listed.
Unusable DNA?
Thursday April 1, 2021, two and a half years after the death of Denise Le Pohon, a young man, who stole a vehicle a few months previously, is arrested. He is considered violent. He is familiar with carpenter’s hammers since he trained as a carpenter. His genetic profile is compared to the DNA mixed on the handle of the hammer, but a match cannot be established.
“There is a DNA trace on this hammer. The difficulty, however, is that this DNA is not complete, indicates Me Jean-Baptiste Laplace, lawyer at the Paris bar and lawyer for Irène Frain. It was not found in sufficient quantity and in sufficient detail to be able to draw up an identity card of an author who could be compared by insertion in the national file to all those who are already referenced.”
The Essonne police officers have multiplied the most diverse checks. They reviewed Saturday outings of prison inmates from Fleury-Mérogis; listed the times and days of release for all residents of the Barthélémy-Durand psychiatric hospital and those of the La Fontaine social center. Investigators viewed hours and hours of surveillance footage. “To date, all leads available to investigators appear to have been exploited,” write the police.
“That a new expert opinion from forensic doctors says that she died from hammer blows is a first victory, says Irène Frain, sister of Denise Le Pohon. It’s no longer a natural death, It’s murder so I’m ready to continue the fight to prevent the case from being closed.”
Guests from “Hour of Crime”
– Irène Frain, novelist and journalist, sister of Denise Le Pohon and author of the book A crime without importance, published by Seuil editions.
– Me David Koubbi et Me Jean-Baptiste Laplace, lawyers at the Paris bar and lawyers of Irène Frain.
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