This Thursday, December 5, in Grenoble, the public prosecutor requested life imprisonment against Ludovic Bertin29 years old, for the murder of Victorine Dartois in 2020. This tragedy, which had deeply shocked Isère and beyond, had left its mark on people with its brutality and the young age of the victim.
According to the Attorney General, this crime is not a simple “headshot”but of a “coldly premeditated act”executed according to a “predator modus operandi”. She also requested that this sentence be accompanied by a security period of 25 years. The accused, presented as having sought “prey to rape”, allegedly killed Victorine after trying to abuse her. According to the conclusions of the investigation, the 18-year-old young woman was strangled before being drowned alive in a stream.
A disappearance that moved the region
Victorine Dartois, then a BTS communication student, had disappeared September 26, 2020 as she returned home to Villefontaine, after a day of shopping with friends. His body had been found 48 hours later in a streamarousing strong emotion and widespread mobilization in the region.
Ludovic Bertin, aged 25 at the time and manager of a small transport company, was arrested twenty days after the tragedy. It was thanks to the testimony of his best friend, to whom he had confessed his act, that the investigators were able to arrest him.
A story contested by Victorine's family
Before the Isère Assize Court, the accused maintained his version: a chance altercation followed by an uncontrolled gesture. He denied any attempted rape, but his explanations remain peppered with inconsistencies. For Victorine's family, doubt persists about the sincerity of her story.
The highly anticipated verdict could come in the coming days, closing a trial marked by pain and anger.
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