The man was arrested on November 21 in Portugal after 74 days on the run, then transferred Thursday evening to France. The main suspect in the murder of Lilian Dejean, Abdoul Diallo, was indicted this Saturday and imprisoned, announced the Grenoble prosecutor. The judicial investigation was opened for murder, involuntary injuries and possession of a weapon, said Éric Vaillant, confirming information from Dauphiné Libéré.
VideoTribute to the agent killed in Grenoble: “He was always there to help others”
In a statement to Dauphiné Libéré, the suspect’s lawyer, Me Grégoire De Petiville, assured that his “client fully assumes his responsibility in the death of Lilian Dejean”. “He obviously understands his incarceration which he did not oppose. He will explain himself in more detail during the investigation,” he told the regional daily. Contacted by AFP, the lawyer refused to make any further statement.
His papers found at the crime scene
Lilian Dejean was shot in the chest by a man he was trying to hold back after causing a traffic accident while driving a powerful rental car registered in Poland. The 49-year-old father died shortly after in hospital.
Identity papers in the name of Abdoul Diallo, residing in Saint-Martin-d’Hères in the suburbs of Grenoble, were found in the vehicle abandoned by its driver, who had fled on foot. The driver of the vehicle struck during the accident, an elderly woman, slightly injured, had received six days of temporary work interruption (ITT).
The death of Lilian Dejean aroused immense emotion in Grenoble, where residents paid vibrant tributes to her the day after the murder, then during a white march. He was then buried in Guadeloupe.
A heavy criminal record
Abdou Diallo already had a long record, including 19 convictions, including “many for acts of violence but also for drug trafficking”, according to prosecutor Éric Vaillant. He was first incarcerated by the Grenoble children’s judge at the age of 15 and was sentenced to a total of six years in prison over the last ten years.
Considering “its sensitivity, the excitement that was caused in Isère and the facts of this particular seriousness”, this is a “major” file, indicated Damien Delaby, zonal director of the judicial police, after the suspect’s arrest. More than forty investigators participated in his hunt.
The white march in tribute to Lilian Dejean brought together a thousand people, including many elected officials such as the environmentalist mayor of Grenoble Éric Piolle. The tragedy occurred in the middle of a dark series for the Grenoble metropolis, where according to the authorities a “gang war” between drug traffickers is playing out. At the end of October, the prosecution counted around fifty gunshots linked to drug trafficking since the start of 2024, which left six people dead.
