Tried for the murder of Victorine Dartois, the accused, Ludovic Bertin, was sentenced this Friday to life imprisonment, with a security period of 20 years, by the Isère Assize Court in Grenoble. Shortly before the verdict, he presented his “apologies” to the girl’s family. The 29-year-old young man admitted to having “caused a lot of suffering” to the family of the young 18-year-old student.
“I very much regret my action. I am aware of having committed the irreparable, I am the only one responsible,” he said in a monotone, repeating that he wanted to “continue his work with the psychologists” in prison. Speaking shortly after to the press, Victorine’s mother, Sylvie, declared herself “very disappointed with this trial, with what he said.” “From the beginning, it’s been hollow, in fact. There is no ounce of regret,” she said, calling Bertin a “liar”.
On Thursday, the attorney general requested life imprisonment, with a security period of 25 years, against the accused. She believes that Ludovic Bertin had followed a “carefully calculated scenario”, “acting in a predatory manner”. He was looking for “prey to rape,” she said, which Bertin has denied since the beginning of the investigation, although he, on the other hand, quickly admitted the murder.
“I hope (the sentence) will be heavy, as the trial was heavy for us, with all these lies. It was very heavy to live with,” said Victorine’s mother. In addition to the murder of Victorine, the accused was on trial for the rape two years earlier of another young woman named “Vicky”.
Victorine Dartois, 18, was just starting a BTS in communications when she disappeared on September 26, 2020 while walking back to her family home in Villefontaine, about thirty km southeast of Lyon, after an afternoon of shopping with friends. His body was found in a stream choked with branches less than 48 hours later, his jeans abandoned nearby. The autopsy established that she had been strangled and drowned.
