At first glance, the two cases seem very different. In August 1988, the body of Nathalie Boyer was found along the railway tracks in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier. The 15-year-old girl, reported missing the day before, had her throat slit. Twelve years later, in May 2000, the corpse of Laïla Afif, 40, was discovered floating in the Bourbre, at La Verpillière. This mother of five children was killed by a gunshot to the back of the head while she went to enroll one of her sons in BEP. Until now, nothing linked these two cold cases, except the fact that they occurred in two neighboring towns of Isère, south of Lyon.
On Monday, however, a man in his sixties was arrested near Dijon, suspected of being the author of the two murders, we learned 20 Minutes from concordant sources, confirming information from RTL. It was DNA found on one of the seals in the Afif file which made it possible to trace the trace of this sixty-year-old, originally from the Grenoble region but who had settled in Burgundy. If the seals concerning the murder of the teenager were destroyed – there is no DNA – the investigators managed to combine the two cases, relying in particular on a series of evidential elements.
“It’s a huge relief for Nathalie Boyer’s family”
In both cases, all avenues had led to dead ends. “It’s a huge relief for Nathalie Boyer’s family to say that there is finally hope of having answers,” assures their lawyer, Me Corinne Hermann. And to qualify: “It is at the same time an upheaval in their lives. There is a form of anger, they wonder why this is only happening now. » The autopsy did not reveal any traces of sexual assault. Due to a lack of serious leads, the case was dismissed after three years. It was briefly reopened in 1994, when suspicion fell on an English man. The latter was quickly exonerated. “My clients have been mishandled by the justice system and have already had their cases closed twice, so obviously they are on their guard,” insists Me Corinne Hermann.
This case will ultimately be one of the first to be taken up by the Nanterre “cold case” center, when it is created in 2022. Like that of Leïla Afif, killed at point blank range. Here again, the investigation dragged on for a long time. “When the center was created, we transmitted around ten files, in particular the entire series of missing people from Isère,” recalls former prosecutor Jacques Dallest. And to specify: “If these files have moved forward, it is because they have been taken from A to Z. All the elements have been reread, re-examined, put into context. The seals were the subject of new analyses. This is the very essence of this pole. »
Parental DNA
According to a source close to the case, investigators identified the suspect using the DNA of a member of his family, using the kinship DNA technique. This is a method that allows connections to be made by broadening comparisons with those around you. The suspect, however, was not unknown to the justice system. According to a source close to the matter, confirming information from Dauphiné Libéréthis 62-year-old man was allegedly convicted in 2002 for raping his daughters. Why was this man not registered with the Fnaeg, the national genetic fingerprint file, which came into force in 2001? “The investigations will tell. Perhaps he had been arrested just before his application? », ventures the former magistrate.
Our file on cold cases
But how can we explain such different operating methods and profiles in the two files? “We must move away from the very American pattern of the serial killer who reproduces his crimes,” continues Jacques Dallest. It's very rare, except perhaps Guy Georges. » And the magistrate cited the example of Michel Fourniret or even that of Nordahl Lelandais, convicted of the murder of a little girl and a soldier. The suspect's custody is expected to end this Thursday.
