Nordahl Lelandais admitted this Monday at the opening of his trial before the assizes of Isère to have “definitely killed” Maëlys, before presenting his “apologies” to the girl’s family. “I want to apologize to them, I did kill Maëlys, I didn’t want to kill him, I will explain the facts during the hearing”, he said since. the box while stifling sobs. Precisely, the relatives of the girl hope to know more at the end of these three weeks.
Relatives of Maëlys “impatient and determined”
Upon his arrival in the glass box Nordahl Lelandais, dressed in a sky blue shirt, hands clasped in front of him, took off his mask for the time to state his identity in this room suspended to the sound of his calm and assured voice. Then he sat down for the time of the draw of the jurors and the call of the witnesses, without a look for the relatives and the family of Maëlys.
“I felt them more and more determined and impatient for a few days. Jennifer De Araujo is provided with a small photo of her daughter. The objective is to ensure that Maëlys has her place in this courtroom and This is the case. So we are satisfied with it”, assures Maître Rajon, one of the family’s lawyers. All arrived together this Monday morning, gathered around a large painted portrait of Maëlys, in cheerful colors. They wear a red cord around their neck, a sign that they do not want to respond to the very large press. The public also responded: some came to support the family by displaying on a banner and on small posters “Truth and justice for Maëlys”, stuck everywhere around the court.
Until then Nordahl Lelandais had only made partial confessions, and his relatives hope that he will say more during this trial. During the investigation, he only confessed when he could not do otherwise, that is to say when the investigators presented him with irrefutable material elements such as the micro stain of Maëlys’ blood found in the trunk of his car.
Gray areas remain
On the exact circumstances of the kidnapping and those of the murder, gray areas remain simply because Lelandais never gave many details. He only explained that Maëlys got into her car on her own to take her to see her dogs, but then she started crying and wanted to go back to the wedding. Annoyed, he had then given her several punches which had involuntarily caused the death of the little girl. And above all, from the beginning, the Lelandais absolutely denies the sexual motive for the kidnapping. The Maëlys family thinks exactly the opposite, even if no material element has been able to demonstrate it.
“I’m waiting for him to realize all the harm he has done”, explains the victim’s father, Joaquim De Araujo, to Europe 1. “He’s a person who only inspires me with disgust, only venom comes out of his mouth. He’s a manipulative liar. I feel like this person has no d “soul, has no heart. It’s dark inside of him. What I would like for us is that he be put aside because he is a dangerous person. he managed to get out I think he would still do a lot of harm, while he remains in prison for the good of all.”
The question now is whether Lelandais will finally agree to reveal his secrets to the family of his victim, as he claimed on Monday. We remember that last May in Chambéry, during the trial for the murder of Arthur Noyer, he had said nothing. And this despite several requests from relatives of the soldier and even his own lawyer.