To her two sons aged 10 and 7, Émilie defined things like this: “I helped Grandpapi climb to the stars.” Justice had decided to refer her to the Rhône Assize Court for murder.
This was in line with the law: Émilie had confessed to having voluntarily killed Manuel Adell, her grandfather, which was in itself an aggravating circumstance (“murder on ascendant”). She had also taken the can of gasoline from her garage, driven to her parents' house and taken care to put the can back in its place, which constituted another aggravating circumstance: premeditation. She therefore risked life imprisonment.
When the attorney general asks Élisabeth why she has not filed as a civil party, she remains silent for a moment, then reformulates, sincerely trying to understand the question: “Why I don't defend my father, it's That?” Emilie's mother sighs. To tell the truth, all these questions overwhelm him. She no longer knows if she was angry with her daughter, she doesn't know if she would have been capable of burning her father alive, she doesn't know what she thinks about all that. Faced with the attorney general, Élisabeth only knows one thing: “My father suffered so much.”
The director of investigation understands it: fire is not a rare element in criminal cases, but usually, it is used to hide evidence. This is the first time he has been confronted with fire in “an end-of-life file”. During the interview with the psychologist, Émilie did not recognize herself in the term “assassination”. For her, it was about helping her grandfather leave. On the stand, she confesses: “It’s super violent.” But today, she still doesn't know why. She was thinking about the smoke. She hadn't thought about the flames, much less the second and third degree burns.
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