“It was very hard to live with, three long weeks of trial, but we say to ourselves that Maëlys at the same time made it possible to arrest an assassin, a murderer”.
The sentencing to life imprisonment of Lelandais, accompanied by a 22-year security sentence, following the requisitions of the Advocate General, was somewhere “a very great relief to know him away from society. “, he confided after the statement of the verdict at the microphone of RTL even if he regrets that the accused never admitted to the rape of the girl.
Colleen’s Courage
Joachim de Araujo did not accept the late apologies of the former soldier, just after his confession, at the end of the trial. “For me, it sounded wrong, it was another insult to my family and the memory of Maëlys. I do not accept these excuses, it was not sincere, it was overplayed. »
Reassured by the announcement of Lelandais’ lawyer that he will not appeal – “a weight that is lifted from me and will allow me to project myself into the future” – Maëlys’ father confided the importance of his daughter Colleen, the big sister, who “had the strength to confront Lelandais, asking him to confess what he had done. It was a great courage and I am proud of it. »