Will the appeal trial of the double parricide of La Bastide-Clairence take place? In this case, the question ends up being redundant. The psychological state of Kévin Rouxel, the main accused of a double parricide committed in 2016 in the Basque Country, could lead to a postponement of the proceedings supposed to open this Tuesday, January 25, before the Assize Court of Mont-de-Marsan. The 28-year-old boy was the subject of a new expertise today to determine if he is fit to appear.
He must be tried, with his former partner, Sofiya Bodnarchuk, for the assassination, on February 20, 2016, of his parents Ewa and Pascal…
Will the appeal trial of the double parricide of La Bastide-Clairence take place? In this case, the question ends up being redundant. The psychological state of Kévin Rouxel, the main accused of a double parricide committed in 2016 in the Basque Country, could lead to a postponement of the proceedings supposed to open this Tuesday, January 25, before the Assize Court of Mont-de-Marsan. The 28-year-old boy was the subject of a new expertise today to determine if he is fit to appear.
He must be tried, with his former partner, Sofiya Bodnarchuk, for the assassination, on February 20, 2016, of his parents Ewa and Pascal Rouxel, 55 and 54, killed with a revolver in their family home. At first instance, they were sentenced to 30 and 20 years’ imprisonment by the Assize Court of Pau, for murder and complicity in murder. With his partner, the young man wanted to accomplish what he himself describes as a “perfect crime” to recover a jackpot estimated at 1.5 million euros, “or even 2 million if we did well”.
This hypothetical dismissal would be the fifth in the history of this implausible trial, which has already earned its qualification of “cursed”. The first attempt, in December 2018, was aborted following the discomfort of the co-accused in the middle of the interrogation, then the attempted suicide of Kévin Rouxel. The second, in May 2019, could not stand because the young man was hospitalized in a psychiatric establishment. In March 2020, the health crisis had forced the court to dismiss once again, a few hours from a verdict. The “damned” trial, according to Kévin Rouxel, is therefore back in the Landes, with its main characters.
Kévin Rouxel, the child parricide
On the day of the tragedy, February 20, 2016, the whole Rouxel family came together to celebrate the 23rd birthday of the youngest son, Kevin, born on February 18. He is the parricide son, who admitted to having killed his father with a revolver, but who has more difficulty in verbalizing it for his mother. In the box, the young man often embarks on long explanations – or ramblings – and has a hard time containing his mood swings. His agitated behavior has regularly caused adjournments or expulsion from previous trials.
If he first protected his then companion, Sofiya, since 2018 he has only one obsession: that she be condemned with him. Kévin Rouxel has two escape attempts to his credit, the last of which dates back to last October, when he was imprisoned in Gradignan prison, near Bordeaux.
Kévin Rouxel is defended by Me Emmanuel Zapirain.
David Le Deodic/SOUTH WEST
Sofiya Bodnarchuk, the accomplice?
The young woman is 29 years old today. Born in Topar, Kazakhstan, she met Kevin at the end of the summer of 2011. Barely 18 years old, they exchanged via an Internet dating site. She arrives in December at La Bastide-Clairence and quickly marries Kévin. Two years later, she becomes pregnant. In her first hearings, she first accused, like her husband, the father Pascal, then brother Yann, of being responsible for the murders. She denies all involvement and proclaims her innocence relentlessly. In November 2020, found to be an accomplice to murder, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
During her trial at first instance, she appeared free under judicial supervision. In Mont-de-Marsan, she will also be in the box of the accused, her last request for parole having been refused. Following her conviction in November 2020, she was also hospitalized in psychiatry, in Pau.
Sofiya Bodnarchuk (right) is assisted by an interpreter.
David Le Deodic/ “SOUTH WEST”
Yann Rouxel, the autistic brother
He is a key part of the case and has even been accused of the worst. Yann Rouxel has always been a different child, with unusual reactions. First responders arriving at the scene of the crime find him prostrate, rocking back and forth, completely shocked. His brother Kevin and his companion Sofiya, heard by the gendarmes, present him as the murderer of his parents. Yann Rouxel, 27 years old at the time, was placed in police custody then indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in Mont-de-Marsan.
It was during a psychiatric expertise carried out as part of the investigation that we discovered that he was actually autistic Asperger, never diagnosed. Entered into detention on February 22, 2016, he was released on 1er April. For the prosecution, he is a central figure. His autistic disorder is put forward to explain “that he can’t lie”. As a survivor of the macabre scene, his testimony is a highlight of the debates.
Double parricide at La Bastide-Clairence: our file
On February 20, 2016, Pascal and Ewa Rouxel were shot dead in their house in Bastide-Clairence, in the Basque Country. Sentenced in November 2020 in Pau, during a 4th trial, their son Kévin and his partner, Sofiya Bodnarchuk, appealed. They should be tried again from this Tuesday, January 25, in Mont-de-Marsan. But doubts still remain about the holding of this “cursed trial”