As the second week of his trial for the murder of little Maëlys ends, Nordahl Lelandais admitted on Friday February 11 to having “voluntarily” killed the granddaughter, after more than five hours of interrogation.
It was his lawyer, Me Alain Jakubowicz, who got him to confess at the very end of the hearing. So far, Nordahl Lelandais’ version had not changed in four years: he maintained that Maelys had followed him in his car to see his dogs and that, if he had kicked her, it had never intended to kill her.
A version he finally abandoned today, after a long interrogation. Calling to stop “quibbling”, Me Alain Jakubowicz asked him: “You are being prosecuted for having deliberately killed an 8-year-old girl, do you recognize it?”
He denies having raped Maëlys
When Nordahl Lelandais answered “yes”, the lawyer resumed: “clearly, we can forget the term accident?”. To which the accused again answered “yes”, before pronouncing these words: “I killed Maëlys”. He then admitted the kidnapping of the girl as well as the sexual assaults inflicted on two of her little cousins, for which he is also on trial. “I recognize all the facts with which I am charged,” concluded Nordahl Lelandais.
During this new day, he nevertheless continued to deny any sexual violence on Maëlys. “We would like me to say that it is a sexual crime but not at all”, he added. “I was not at all in this sexual perspective, far from it”. “I know that I will be sentenced heavily, I deserve this sentence of course, I accept it because there is a family opposite who is sorry to have lost a little girl”, insisted the former 38 year old dog handler.
After today’s hearing, Noémie Schulz, police-justice journalist for CNEWS was able to exchange a few words with Maëlys’ father, Joachim De Araujo. The latter considered that the words of Nordahl Lelandais were not “enough”. He also doubts their sincerity.