Two years after the murder of Vanesa, the accused returns to Tonneins to reproduce the facts

This is one of the highlights of a judicial investigation: that of the reconstitution of a crime. The one that took place in Tonneins (Lot-et-Garonne) on November 19, 2022 is particularly sordid. It plunged the entire region into astonishment and fear. This concerns the kidnapping, rape and murder of a child, Vanesa, 14 years old, schoolgirl in Germillac.

Two years after the crime

Tuesday January 14, 2025. It is 9:04 a.m. when he arrives at the scene of the kidnapping, rue Gambetta, in the city center. Earlier in the morning, Romain Chevrel, indicted for the kidnapping, the kidnapping, rape and murder of Vanesa14, was taken from his cell in Agen. He is, for now, still presumed innocent.

Head to the crime scene. A particularly sordid crime that chilled the city of tobacco and the entire regionNovember 19, 2022.

That Tuesday, therefore, an important phase of the investigation took place: the reconstruction of the facts, requested by the investigating judge in charge of the case.

A chilling atmosphere

-4°C, thick fog… the atmosphere is freezing. The accused is waiting for his lawyers in the prison administration truck which took him to Tonneins.

Harnessed to the tow truck, his car crossed the police barrier shortly after 9 a.m. to be positioned not far from the scene of the kidnapping.

The accused must illustrate everything he said during the investigation and the investigation. How he kidnapped the girl, to the point of murder.

A car, of the same model as the one used that day, is placed in rue Gambetta, parked as he explains having parked on the day of the tragedy, in double file along the Manufacture. A police officer of a build equivalent to that of young Vanesa plays the role of the victim.

Romain Chevrel plays his own role… that of the teenager’s executioner.

The whole neighborhood sealed off

The area was cordoned off by the police. There were 35 of them mobilized to ensure that everything went well, that the reconstitution takes place in serenity. Soldiers from the Marmande company, the squadron, criminal identification, a cell specializing in the life history of the accused… With lawyers, magistrates, clerks etc. This reconstitution mobilized around fifty people.

A second highlight in Gironde

After this first strong moment, the reconstruction of the kidnapping of the little girla second took place more discreetly, in a forest in Gironde. A discreet, little-used road, also cordoned off by the police, allowed the reconstruction to continue. It is in this very remote corner of Gironde that Romain Chevrel is accused of having parked his car in which he allegedly raped and killed Vanesa.

The rest will not be the subject of a reconstruction. Romain Chevrel has always admitted to having left the girl’s body in an uninhabited house in Birac.

An essential step

The importance of this reconstruction is twofold. For the civil parties on the one hand. “This allows us to put ourselves in the context and understand everything that happened,” explains Maître Christine Roul, representing the mother of the schoolgirl, who has since returned to live in Spain where Vanesa is buried.

The lawyer attended the entire reconstruction, “it is important, it allows us to appreciate the extent of the damage… the degree of consciousness that this child had, if she understood that she was going to die “.

This allows us to truly understand what this 14-year-old girl was subjected to. 5 hours of ordeal… She realized that she was going to die. It’s terrible!

Corroborate your statements

For investigators and judges also the reconstruction is important. It allows them to put themselves back in the context, place themselves in the conditions, the places and precisely to see if the declarations of Romain Chevrel correspond to reality. If his statements are compatible with the places and means used.

Because if Romain Chevrel cooperated, there still remain points to refine and elements to confirm.

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