A few days before the opening of the Nordalh Lelandais trial, the parents of the young Maëlys spoke in “Sept à Huit”, this Sunday, January 16. With great emotion, the couple returned to the day the girl’s body was found.
The parents of little Maëlys have once again show courage in front of the TF1 cameras. This Sunday, January 16, the couple agreed to come back to the day that completely changed their lives. That of February 14, 2018, the date on which their daughter’s body was found. Six months after the disappearance of the eight-year-old girl, the gendarmes finally announce to the couple a big step forward in the judicial investigation. After combing through the car of the sole suspect, Nordahl Lelandais, traces of blood were found in the trunk. And the results of the analyzes were not long in coming: it is indeed the blood of Maëlys. Doubt is no longer possible as to the guilt of this former soldier who until then refused to cooperate. Although research is relaunched in the heart of the Massif des Chartreuses, victim’s parents hope want to remain optimistic. “When the investigator told me that he found Maëlys, I hoped to see her alive again“, admits with emotion Joachim de Araujo, dad of Maëlys to the cameras of TF1.
However, this glow was only fleeting. After finding the princess dress and a sandal that the little girl was wearing on the evening of her disappearance, August 27, 2017, the police discovered Maëlys’ body. Since then, the girl’s parents’ hopes are dashed. “And then he confessed to having found a skull”, says the father of the family with a hoarse voice. Understanding that their daughter has died, Joachim de Araujo and Jennifer Cleyet-Marrel have to face a new ordeal. The latter will not be able to see the body of their daughter. “It was complicated for me. How can you put a name on a skull? The name of Maëlys?”, asks Joachim de Araujo, totally dejected. “He broke our lives”, concludes eyes filled with tears Jennifer Cleyet-Marrel.
Nordahl Lelandais again facing justice
Already sentenced to twenty years in prison for the murder of Arthur Noyer, Nordahl Lelandais is awaiting his new trial. On Monday, January 31, 2022, he will be tried for the murder of Maëlys and the sexual assaults committed on two of her little cousins 4 and 6 years old. And at the bar of the Grenoble Assize Court, the former soldier will not be able to deny the facts. On photos, revealed by our colleagues from TF1 this Tuesday, January 11, the 8-year-old girl is seen for the last time aboard this white vehicle belonging to Nordahl Lelandais on August 27, 2017. “We see a small figure dressed in white on the passenger seat of Nordahl Lelandais. It is 2:47 a.m., the former dog handler has just left the wedding with Maelys on board. She seems to be snuggled up against the door”, reveals the journalist.
These pictures were taken “900 meters from the village hall”, where the whole family had gone to attend a wedding. This evidence, along with DNA research, only reinforces the guilt of this dog trainer and ex-military. For the kidnapping and murder of a minor under the age of fifteen, he faces life imprisonment.
Photo credits: TF1 screenshot