At the helm, Jennifer De Araujo’s first words were for her daughter, Maëlys: “My chick, my ray of sunshine, if I had known it was the last time I would hug you, I wouldn’t you would never have let go”. This Monday, February 7, the mother of the granddaughter returned to her ordeal, during a new day of the trial of Nordahl Lelandais.
The latter is accused of having killed little Maëlys, 8 years old at the time, who disappeared on August 27, 2017 during a wedding celebrated in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, in Isère. The child’s body was not found until six months later. That day, Jennifer De Araujo says she felt “the knot” in her stomach come undone.
“I failed to protect you from the bad guys, and I feel guilty for not having watched you more that day. This guilt will be anchored in me until the end of my days. You are my little heroine, you will leave an indelible trace in the hearts of the French people” #Maelys
— Noémie Schulz (@noemieschulz) February 7, 2022
But the pain remained. The one who blew up her couple, who broke the family clan because everything in the house reminded Maëlys. Jennifer De Araujo described the long months of uncertainty, the troubled nights in which she woke up crying, after dreaming about her daughter.
“I did not know how to protect you from the bad guys, this guilt will be anchored in me until the end of my days, she declared at the bar, addressing Maëlys. You are my little heroine, you will leave an indelible mark in the hearts of the French.
During her hearing, Jennifer De Araujo said she was certain that her daughter did not get into Nordahl Lelandais’ car of her own free will. Calling the latter “the accused”, she challenged him thus: “luckily my daughter put you in prison so that the evil in you stops killing”.
Firmly holding the portrait of Maëlys who has not left her since the start of the trial, her mother asked that a video montage, showing photos of the little victim, be broadcast. Finally, Jennifer De Araujo spoke directly to the jurors: “the decision is yours, I trust you”.