This will certainly go down as one of the most memorable afternoons of the Victorine Dartois murder trial. It has been held since Monday, November 25 in front of the Assises de l'Isère and this Friday, the friends and family of the 18-year-old young woman killed in Villefontaine in 2020 testified. Ludovic Bertin is accused of having killed her and attempting to rape her.
Two friends of Victorine testify firstboth are among the last people to have exchanged by SMS, voice message or on the phone with the young woman, while she was returning on foot from the Villefontaine brand village on September 26, 2020. Both recount their friendship with Victorine and her laugh, present in all the testimonies this Friday afternoon.
Victorine's laughter in all the testimonies
“He was an exceptional person who left an impression on everyone with his laughter, his joy and his good humor” begins one of her friends. “She had a very infectious laugh” she says again later, when the president asks her to tell what Victorine was like in high school. Then it was the turn of her best friend since kindergarten to testify, very dignified and managing not to shed a tear. “I think her laugh left an impression on many people because she had an incredible laugh, she was a ray of sunshine for everyone.”
She stands very straight, in her suit, and also tells as Victorine feared men, “a fear that comes from the world we live in, from all the monsters who kill young girls” she asserts. After them, it is the turn of the young woman's family to speak and once again, we find Victorine's radiant face through their words. “I miss her laugh a lot,” says her father, “she had a great laugh, you could hear it from afar. His laughter was radiant.”
The accused with downcast eyes
When it is Victorine's mother's turn to speak, the president invites her to testify seated, lest she fall. “Boom, boom, boom, Victorine’s little heart is beating” begins his mother, recounting his birth. Collapsed, she returns to the terror on September 26, 2020, when her other children leave in the night in search of their sister. “Boom, boom, boom, your little heart is terrified. It will beat its last in the arms of your murderer, whose name is Ludovic Bertin” she finishes, staring at the accused for a long time.
In boxing, kept his eyes down during all these speeches. The trial continues for another week. The hearing will resume Monday December 2 at 9 a.m. with the hearing of a key witness: the best friend of the accused who reported him to the police in October 2020. Ludovic Bertin had confided in him. His friend was afraid that he would commit suicide and he felt that Victorine's parents had the right to the truth.
