“It’s Ludo, my friend, my brother”, how the accused was denounced by his best friend

The Isère Assize Court heard, this Monday, the ex-best friend of Ludovic Bertin in whom he had confided after the murder of Victorine Dartois. The witness maintained his statements, angering the accused.

“It’s Ludo, my friend, my brother”Maxime* will say to the police when he comes to denounce his best friend. It is he who, two weeks after the death of Victorine Dartois in Villefontaine (Isère), will allow investigators to trace Ludovic Bertin, tried before the Isère Assize Court for the murder of the student of 18 years preceded by attempted rape.

“This act cost me but it was obligatory. I did what I had to do. I did it for myself, I did it for the Dartois family and indirectly, I did it for Ludovic “affirms Maxime during his testimony this Monday, December 2.

The 30-year-old restaurateur, with a shaved head and full beard, has known Ludovic Bertin since childhood. Together, they shared a few years at college, parties, petty crimes when they were younger. And it was to Maxime that the accused turned when he wanted to talk about this evening of September 26, 2020.

“During a Facetime conversation, we were talking about the news story that happened outside his house [le meurtre de Victorine, NDLR] and in a joking manner, I asked him if he hadn't done it. He hung up and 15 minutes later he was at my house. He said 'it's me'. I didn't expect it to be real at all.”recalls Maxime, hands clasped behind his back, in a clear and confident tone.

The witness also mentions the “regrets” from his best friend, who tells him what happened. “He explained that he had wanted to rape her, but had not done it out of good conscience”he explains. “He realizes that he is doing something stupid. He changes his mind but he cannot let her go again and strangles her.”

Ludovic Bertin then assures, according to Maxime, that he will surrender. “But the days pass and I don't sleep. I wait. (…) I am forced to conclude that I must take the lead because a family is waiting and I am a collateral victim of this story”he continues.

The accused, then married and father of a young boy, told him that he had consumed cocaine that day and had left home on foot before crossing paths with Victorine Dartois by chance. “Someone who leaves without their phone, who crashes their car, who leaves a girl dead and naked [son pantalon était retiré, NDLR] – something I didn’t know, which I learned later through the press – I deduce that he went looking for prey. That's my deduction after talking to him.”believes his ex-best friend.

His speech evolved throughout my detention. At first he wanted to help me and now he hates me.

Ludovic Bertin

Accused of the murder of Victorine Dartois

From his box, the accused loses his temper in the face of the witness's statements. “It is the speech of someone who has hatred against me. His speech has evolved throughout my detention. At the beginning, he wanted to help me and now, he has hatred against me”he judges.

“He adapts his words well, he knows how to speak to make me look like a rapist. His goal is that I never get out (of prison). I don’t remember talking to him about rape”asserts Ludovic Bertin who admitted from his custody the murder of Victorine Dartois, but always denied the attempted rape.

After receiving these confidences, Maxime in turn revealed himself to a few friends “to make the right decision”. “We know what we have to do internally because we are normally constituted but there is the question of knowing how to do it. And for that, I needed help”justifies the witness.

Florent* thus found himself in the backyard of a restaurant with Maxime who revealed everything to him. “He told me directly that Ludovic was the cause of Victorine's death. I lost my words, I was very shocked. I thought it was an accident but Maxime told me no, that he left his phone and his car to his house in order to look for prey to rape”traces Florent, a 30-year-old trader, who knew Ludovic Bertin without being a close friend.

In the process, he takes Maxime so that he can turn himself in to a gendarme he knew. “It’s obvious that he had to do it because these are dramatic facts. But he was still his best friend, his brother, so it was difficult”adds Florent.

I will always remain on my guard, absolutely all my life. Because I'm wary of what he might want to do.

Maxime

Ex-best friend of Ludovic Bertin

Maxime was quickly interviewed by the investigators in charge of investigations into Victorine's death. But three days pass and Ludovic Bertin is not arrested. His best friend receives a video of him, gun in hand. “I don’t know what I should understand. I ask him what he plans to do with it but he doesn’t answer me”he whispers.

The 29-year-old father was arrested in the hours that followed, while he was refueling his vehicle at a service station. The weapon is found in the storage compartment. During the investigation, he always claimed to have strangled Victorine Dartois after a shove and that the victim “insult” while he was jogging.

“(Maxime) doesn’t say everything, he only says what suits him”maintains Ludovic Bertin who will detail his version of the facts on Wednesday December 4 before the Assize Court, saying he is ready to “to assume”. “I will always remain on my guard, absolutely all my life. Because I am wary of what he might want to dodelivers the ex-best friend to conclude his testimony. I am on my guard constantly and for my entire existence.”

* Borrowed first names.