Invited to speak at length this Wednesday about his personality, the accused speaks calmly and in a soft voice, his hands placed on the edge of the box, but seems to avoid looking towards the civil parties' bench.
“I'm not complaining about my place (in prison), I'm where I should be. What I did is indescribable,” he declares regarding the facts, for which he faces life imprisonment.
The body of the young student, who disappeared while returning home to Villefontaine (Isère) in September 2020, was found in a stream, her jeans removed. Arrested three weeks later, Ludovic Bertin, who already had around ten convictions on his criminal record, admitted to the murder of Victorine, while denying having attempted to rape her.
“Not a difficult child”
Three of his half-brothers, interviewed Tuesday as witnesses, depicted a family environment that was both modest and chaotic, with a mother of Martinican origin, an employee of the Postal Bank, essentially raising seven children alone from four different fathers in a rural area, near Villefontaine. Ludovic, the penultimate, “was a good child, not a difficult child,” she told investigators.
Two of his older brothers agreed in court, describing him as “hardworking”, “reliable”, while admitting to having only maintained superficial relationships with him. The third, Samuel, takes less gloves: “He was doing stupid things (…). My mother couldn't do anything, she yelled at him, hit him, she told the police “keep him”, she couldn't take it anymore. In the end, she “gave up,” he said.
“For me, he’s crazy”
Ludovic Bertin, who left the school system without any qualifications, left home at the age of 18, did temporary work, then set up a small transport company which, according to him, worked well. At the time of his arrest in October 2020, he was married to his childhood sweetheart and father of a young boy. He had “matured”. “His life was great, unlike mine,” said his half-brother Samuel.
This is not the opinion of Dounia A., sister of his now ex-wife. Bertin “took our sister from us, she was under control,” she declared, explaining that her family had never accepted this marriage. “For me, he’s crazy. (…) Make sure that he can never harm any woman again,” she told the court.
“Two Ludovics”
There were indeed “two Ludovics”, admitted Bertin on the stand, questioned about the apparent “duality” of his personality. Confronted with darker aspects, he admitted his addiction to cocaine, his numerous infidelities and violence – reciprocal, according to him – against his wife.
He, on the other hand, appeared reluctant to recognize other aspects that were nevertheless supported by the investigation or by testimonies such as the sale of narcotics beyond the simple “repair” of loved ones, an addiction to pornographic and violent content, or even “insistent” behavior with a view to obtaining sexual favors from his various conquests.
“I didn’t necessarily have good company, I didn’t necessarily make the right choices (…). I have always had one foot in good and one foot in evil,” he emphasizes, claiming to have “opened his eyes” thanks to the work carried out with a psychologist in prison. “I need to work on myself, these are not empty words,” he said.
The decision of the Isère Assize Court is expected on December 6.
