Death of Victorine: argument that turns into tragedy or premeditated act? 4 years later, the trial of the neighbor accused of having killed her opens

Four years after the death of Victorine Dartois, the trial of Ludovic Bertin, accused of her murder, opens this Monday, November 25 before the Isère Assize Court. On September 26, 2020, Victorine, an 18-year-old BTS student, disappeared while returning on foot to Villefontaine (Isère), about thirty kilometers southeast of Lyon. She had spent the afternoon with friends.

Also read:
Four months after her death, Victorine's father publishes a very moving message on social networks

After missing her bus, she decides to walk home, about 25 minutes from her home. Without news, his relatives quickly alerted the gendarmerie. Two days later, her body was found in a stream, pants removed, a few kilometers from her home. The autopsy established that she was strangled before being drowned.

He admits to having dumped her body in a stream

Twenty days later, Ludovic Bertin, neighbor of the Dartois family and father of a young child, was arrested thanks to the testimony of his best friend to whom he confided the facts. The suspect, aged 25 at the time, had already been convicted ten times for minor offenses, but had never been incarcerated due to sentence modifications.

Also read:
Death of Victorine: who is Ludovic Bertin. the suspect arrested in Isère?

In police custody, he admits to having encountered Victorine on the evening of her disappearance. According to his version, an involuntary shove led to an argument, during which he “panicked” and “squeezed the neck” of the young woman until he strangled her. He then claims to have dumped her body in a stream to hide it. However, he denies any sexual motive, despite the victim's pants being removed and inconsistencies noted in his initial account.

Also tried for a rape committed in 2018

During the investigation, several elements reinforced suspicions of attempted rape. A relative of the accused reportedly reported that Ludovic Bertin told him he wanted to “look for prey” that evening, after leaving his phone at home so as not to be located. CCTV images also show that the accused followed Victorine after meeting her the first time, contradicting his version of a chance encounter.

In addition to the murder of the victim, Ludovic Bertin is also on trial for the rape of another young woman in September 2018 in the Rhône. The accused, who faces life imprisonment, will have to answer for his actions before the Assize Court until December 6.

His defense, led by Maître Arnaud Adelise, maintains the absence of a sexual motive in the Victorine affair, pointing to analyzes which would have revealed no trace confirming this hypothesis.