Act of desperation. Last Sunday, a house was completely destroyed by an explosion in Quessy, a town attached to Tergnier, in Aisne. An explosion which took place against the backdrop of a neighborhood conflict between the owners of the destroyed house and travelers, installed on land behind their homes. While suspicion fell on the occupants of the land, at the origin of much violence, it was ultimately the one thought to be the victim who confessed according to our information, confirmed by the Public Prosecutor.
After 17 years of a peaceful life in their small house on rue Pasteur, in Tergnier, Betty and Grégory D. saw their daily lives turned upside down when, in July 2023, Angélina G., a member of the traveling community, installed his caravan in the land located just behind their house. Even if the mayor of the town, Michel Carreau, recognizes that the reception from the residents was rather wary, Betty and Grégory took it upon themselves, going so far as to lend electricity to their new neighbors. But, according to the couple, things got out of hand when they had to cut the power to the caravan because it tripped the meter in their garage.
Numerous complaints that resulted in nothing
The daily insults uttered by Angélina G., whose husband was incarcerated for other reasons, were followed by degradations. First committed by the woman alone, then by people from her family who came to help her. Anne and Martial, adjoining neighbors of Betty and Grégory, were also attacked: “last summer, they attacked our house from the back and tried to also enter from the front,” explains to 20 Minutes Anne. Without forgetting the damage with stones, iron bars and the pillaging of the garden. Of the six complaints filed by Anne and Martial, none will succeed.
For their part, Betty and Grégory also filed numerous complaints, one of which ended up sending Angélina G.’s stepson behind bars. But that won’t calm the situation. “I feared it would end badly, and it ended badly,” laments to 20 Minutes the mayor of Tergnier, who had nevertheless attempted mediation in July. In vain. Things even got worse last November, when Angélina G.’s partner was released from prison, under house arrest under electronic bracelet. “The day he was released, he threatened to kill us all and the police did nothing,” assures Anne.
Despite everything, the latter and her partner did not leave their house unlike Betty and Grégory. “They left their home in September, a little before the filming of the RMC Story report on their situation,” explains Alain Lamotte, opposition municipal councilor. They slept with friends, family or sometimes even in their car. “At the beginning, they came to see their house, then less and less,” remembers Alain Lamotte. At RMC, Betty will admit to being at the end of her rope in a situation for which she saw no way out.
A sponsored explosion
A solution nevertheless seemed to have arrived last Sunday, when Betty and Grégory’s house was completely destroyed in an explosion which also damaged that of their adjoining neighbors. A voluntary explosion as suggested by the investigation opened by the Laon prosecutor, Guillaume Donnadieu, for “voluntary destruction by dangerous means”. Without directly naming the Travelers living on the ground, the mayor of Tergnier nevertheless mentioned this neighborhood conflict to explain the context. Especially since several witnesses saw two people fleeing, including one wearing a hood, and an unknown person was found injured under the rubble.
It was the latter, as well as an accomplice arrested later, who were the key to an incredible twist. Heard by the investigators, these men from Chauny admitted that they had been recruited by Betty and her husband to burn down their house according to our information, confirmed by the Laon prosecutor’s office. Betty and her companion had prepared an alibi in the form of a weekend in Paris at the time of the events. When questioned in turn, the owners of the destroyed house admitted the facts, again according to our information. They were indicted for “complicity in destruction by dangerous means” and “attempted fraud”. Their henchmen were indicted for “destruction of the property of others by dangerous means”. All were placed in pre-trial detention.
“We suspected something, the last time I saw her after the explosion, she was tense, her gaze shifty,” says Anne. The latter now understands better why Betty had asked her several times for confirmation that she would not be at home on the night of December 28 to 29. But if she understands, she does not forgive the gesture: “it is a betrayal, she did not measure the consequences of her actions on my family, my children”, she laments, adding that she now counted file a complaint against her ex-neighbor.
