The 38-year-old defendant, who appeared on Monday lightly bearded, his graying hair cropped close together wearing a blue shirt and beige pants, had previously taken off his mask to ask the president if he could turn to the family of the victim, but the magistrate asked him to address the Court. During the morning, the former military dog handler Nordahl Lelandais, tried for the murder preceded by the kidnapping and kidnapping of Maëlys De Araujo, 8, in August 2017, had however seemed to avoid looking at the side of the civil parties, most of the time staring at the president or her feet.
Relatives more and more determined
Maëlys’ parents came to the Grenoble courthouse with a large painted portrait of the little girl, then left in front of the entrance to the courtroom. “The objective is for Maëlys to have her full place in this courtroom”, explained the lawyer for the child’s mother, Me Fabien Rajon, adding that the family was “ready to face these three weeks of seated”.
Those close to the child are “more and more determined, impatient, of course lucid about the ability of Nordahl Lelandais to tell the whole truth, especially about the abuse of a sexual nature inflicted on little Maëlys”, a-t- he added, while the prosecution for rape was dismissed during the investigation for lack of evidence. At the opening of the hearing several witnesses were missing, including the brother of the accused, Sven Lelandais, who asked by mail not to attend the hearing, claiming that he had “nothing to do” with this case and arguing that he had just “difficulty” finding work as a seasonal worker in the mountains.
A “sick man”
The defendant’s lawyer, Me Alain Jakubowicz, supported his request, describing him as “a sick man, suffering from an orphan disease”. He was not followed by the president, who ordered that he be “wanted”. She also ordered the presence of a former co-detainee of the accused, whose testimony had been deemed unreliable in the past, and one of his ex-girlfriends, yet carrying a medical certificate. The president then read the thick report summarizing the case and the day was to continue with the hearing of witnesses including a personality investigator and the mother of the accused.
From the start, four and a half years ago, this tragic news item had fascinated the general public, arousing compassion for the girl’s parents and indignation with regard to the suspect, perceived as a manipulator and for a time suspected of being a serial killer. Dozens of people showed up very early Monday morning in front of the courthouse in the hope of attending the trial, but many of them could not access the room. “Today we arrived at 7:30 a.m., we will try again tomorrow and we will come at 7 a.m.”, declare with a touch of disappointment two Grenoble law students, Melissa Abismail, 18, and Melisa Caglak, 19.
Gray areas remain
Already sentenced in Chambéry in May 2021 to 20 years in prison for the murder of young soldier Arthur Noyer, Nordahl Lelandais had not appealed. He will now have to explain the circumstances which led him to kill Maëlys De Araujo during a wedding evening in Pont-de-Beauvoisin (Isère) on the night of August 26 to 27, 2017. under what conditions the little girl got into her car. The circumstances of the child’s death also remain surrounded by gray areas. Quickly suspected despite his denials, the former soldier was finally confused by the discovery of a bloodstain in the trunk of his car. Six months after the fact, he had led the investigators to the remains of his victim, in the Chartreuse massif.
He will also be tried for sexual assault against two little cousins aged 5 and 6 at the time, as well as for possession and recording of child pornography images. The verdict is expected around February 18 – if the Covid-19 pandemic does not cloud the issue. Nordahl Lelandais faces life imprisonment.