It’s hot at the end of summer 79. On the transistors, the song Born to be alive by Frenchman Patrick Hernandez turns round and takes first place in the Top 50. On the other side of the Channel, Margaret Thatcher has just become Prime Minister.
The last year of the seventies marks the end of recklessness, of a wind of freedom. A period chosen by Yvonne Crosby to tour Europe with her daughter. On the morning of September 12, this 23-year-old Australian and her little one were found dead on the edge of the forest in Roulans, shot in the head. More than 40 years after the fact, this double murder remains an enigma. Back to this sordid news item, which the press had dubbed “the car park crime”.
The macabre discovery
It is a little after 4 p.m. this Wednesday, September 12. A mushroom picker and his family go to the Bois de la Chaille, near the village of Roulans. The children get out of the vehicle and go towards the big trees, along the departmental road. The attention of the father of the family is drawn to a task at the edge of a path
As he approaches, he sees a woman lying on the ground. She seems dead, an impact is visible on her skull. He keeps his offspring away and immediately alerts the police. When they arrive, the soldiers patrol the area. About fifteen meters away, they discover the lifeless body of a little girl. She too appears to have been shot in the head.
In a trash can, close to the crime scene, the investigators discover bank papers and a logbook written in English. The first victim is called Yvonne-Stella Crosby, she is 23 years old. She is Australian and left the country in July with her 6-year-old daughter Lisa. Dead, too.
Yvonne Crosby was shot on the edge of the forest as seen in this shot. Photo RAM/Bernard Faille
On the parking lot, in the background, the technicians of the gendarmerie (in white) carry out the findings. Photo RAM/Bernard Faille
The murderer got rid of the things in these two garbage cans, in the parking lot where the double homicide took place. Photo RAM/Bernard Faille
The public prosecutor and the gendarmes, at the scene of the tragedy. Photo RAM/Bernard Faille
The front page of L’Est Républicain, the day after the double murder. Photo Valentin COLLIN
Even today, the places remain unchanged. Photo Franck Lallemand
The small path that leads to the car park is identical, more than forty years after the fact. Photo Franck Lallemand
Two bullets and an unknown motive
The observations carried out on the spot made it possible to find casings of caliber 7.65 mm. The gendarmes quickly understand the scenario of this disastrous day. The mother of the family was executed by surprise, at close range, while she was preparing the picnic.
His little one tried to flee towards the forest. The killer didn’t bother to pursue her. He adjusted his pistol and opened fire. The two holsters found a few centimeters apart are the sign of a particular skill in handling weapons. “After which the assassin went down again near the car parked in the neighboring parking lot, searched in the belongings of his two victims, threw in the trash the elements which did not interest him. He disappeared taking the rest. »
No sexual assaults
What is the motive for this double murder? The flight ? “The victims were poor. Could they carry an object that interested the murderer? », wonders Republican East, in 1979. The removal of a troublesome person? Contract ? A settling of accounts? All the tracks have been exploited. None will identify a suspect. Belonging to an Asian sect did nothing.
The two autopsies carried out in the days that followed made it possible to rule out the sexual trail. The doors closed, one by one.
Yvonne and Lisa Crosby were buried in the small Roulans cemetery in 1979. Photo Franck Lallemand
Yvonne and Lisa Crosby were buried in Roulans Cemetery. Photo RAM/Bernard Faille
Their grave is still visible today. Photo Franck Lallemand
Suspicions, but no suspects
Yvonne Crosby and her little one had left Australia in July 1979. They had criss-crossed the continent on the roads of Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy and Switzerland. The morning of their death, they left an inn in Basel (Switzerland) before taking the road towards France. Their driver will never be identified. “They will only travel 130 km in France, before collapsing under the bullets of a killer.
Foresters who were near the scene said they heard two gunshots. But none saw a person or a vehicle leave the area.
The track of the pedophile Joël Cardon was exploited, following his arrest in 1985. (To read in our edition of August 16). The man lived in a nearby village and knew the area well. He was questioned by the investigators on this file. “I think he was going to talk. But an investigator entered the room and it closed, ”recalls an investigator from the judicial police.
Even today, the murder of Yvonne and Stella Crosby remains an enigma. The two victims were buried in the small Roulans cemetery, a few kilometers from the scene of the tragedy.
The mysterious crime of Doctor Françoise Bourque, shot dead in her office
The years following the Crosby murder were littered with crimes with unknown motives. The case of Doctor Bourque is an illustration of this. In 1986, the 33-year-old young woman was discovered lying in her office on rue Battant in Besançon. She succumbed to three .22 caliber long rifle bullets. Two were shot in the head, at close range. The investigations carried out by the investigators have never made it possible to identify the murderer.
Saturday 6 December, Françoise Bourque must pick up her two children from her parents, after the closing of her practice. The evening progresses and no one shows up in the family home. Worried, the latter tried several times to contact her, in vain. Around 23 h, they decide to go to his place of work, at 83 rue Battant. Inside the premises, they discover the mother of the family, lying in a pool of blood.
The victim was targeted by three munitions
Law enforcement is called to the scene of the crime. They quickly understand that the victim was targeted by three munitions, two of which were fatal to the head. The autopsy reveals that she was killed at close range by a small caliber weapon. On the other hand, she was not raped. Act of an imbalance ? Old or professional dispute ? Many leads will be studied by the investigators. The doctor only received by appointment and no disorder was noticed in the apartment. “ Everything would therefore lead to believe that Mrs. Françoise Bourque knew this person or had, in any case, no reason to be suspicious. “, writes the journalist Jean-Pierre Mulot, in the columns of The Republican Eastthe day after the tragedy.
The victim left behind twins, aged seven months at the material time. Years passed without any suspect being brought to justice. Even today, this crime remains unsolved.
CV
