Laure Zacchello disappeared on Friday June 21 in Urrugne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Her husband, from whom she was separated, was indicted for “murder by spouse”. The search continues to find the mother.
“This weekend, I experienced a very stressful, not to say terrorizing, relational situation, where I found myself without the ability to physically extract myself and without a means of communicating with the outside world… I was very afraid for my life and even that of my 3 children.” This comment on Laure Zacchello’s Instagram account published on January 29 resonates tragically as hopes of finding this 43-year-old mother alive are low.
Laure Zacchello, missing since June 21, is “probably dead by now, possibly the victim of intentional homicide by her spouse”, said the Bayonne public prosecutor on Thursday during a press conference reviewing the various events which led to the indictment for “spousal murder” of this woman’s husband. There remains a gray area in this case of probable femicide. In the absence of a body, “no hypothesis can be excluded”, warns Jérôme Bourrier.
The husband belongs to the survivalist movement
Friday June 21, Laure Zacchello’s husband was discovered unconscious in front of his home in Urrugne, in the Basque Country. He had a wound on the back of his head; a piece of concrete block was found nearby. Inside the house, everything appears to be in order: no signs of forced entry, no signs of a struggle. Laure Zacchello is absent, but her handbag, her two cell phones and her credit card are found inside. The hypothesis of a burglary or a voluntary disappearance is receding. Especially since his vehicle is parked in front of the house. It’s locked, the keys are missing.
The husband is placed in police custody. Faced with investigators, he remains cold and silent. He also doesn’t seem to care about what happened to his wife. After several hours in police custody, he broke down, burst into tears and said he would speak the next day. What he doesn’t do now explains “not remembering anything”. However, he will lead investigators from the judicial police to one of his hideouts in the Basque countryside. The police then discover a completely different side of their suspect.
This 43-year-old PE teacher, described as athletic, is also a fan of hunting and sport shooting. He legally holds a large arsenal which he stored at his home in two locked cabinets, located in the master bedroom. When the police arrived, the doors of these lockers, which had not been forced, were opened. Several weapons of war have disappeared. Submachine and automatic pistols too.
The man belongs to the survivalist movement. In his hiding places, he hides survival rations and equipment in case of an extreme crisis. He used to go on raids in the wilderness. The justice system then suspects him of having hidden his wife’s body in one of his hiding places or a remote location that he might know about. Moreover, when he is discovered with a head injury – injuries that he could have inflicted on himself – he bears traces of scratches and bruises that could correspond to a passage through brambles or dense vegetation.
“Terrorized”
In addition to these elements, the investigation of the family’s relatives will shed light on a difficult family context. The mother of three children aged between 5 and 9 has been living in fear for several months, and her separation in February from her husband and father of her children. In order not to disturb the children’s balance, the couple decides to alternate their custody in their house in Urrugne. The beginning of the ordeal for this trained nurse who opened a “psychogenealogy” practice.
Laure Zacchello is “terrorized” by the man with whom she has shared her life for ten years. In the first days of their separation, the couple argued. The husband tried to grab his wife’s handbag, “and she bit him”, reports the Bayonne public prosecutor. “The phrase that often helps me in a situation to know if it is right for me is: ‘Do you see yourself still experiencing ‘this’ in 1, 5, 10 years? Would you be satisfied with it? , nourished, joyful, proud? Could you die without regret?”, she confided in March on her Instagram account.
A call for witnesses launched
In the weeks that followed, objects disappeared from her business premises, to which her ex-partner had the keys. He also changed the code on his mobile phone. To protect herself, the mother bought a portable camera that she carries in her bag. When she looks after the couple’s children at the family home, she sleeps with them in the living room, after scattering things on the floor to alert her if her husband enters the house. She reported a situation of harassment to the police, but Laure Zacchello never wanted to file a complaint.
From now on, investigators are doing all they can to find her. “We must find her at all costs,” insisted the head of the Interdepartmental Judicial Police Service on Thursday. Numerous searches and searches were carried out. They are also counting on testimonies: a call for witnesses has been launched to try to obtain information on Laure Zacchello’s vehicle, which could have been used by her husband and thus locate the mother.
