This Wednesday, January 18, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected the new request for the release of Frédéric Mellet, suspected of having made his wife Chantal Mellet disappear. A look back at this disturbing case dating from 2020.
For almost three years now, the “Jubillar de l’Yonne” haunts the small village of Joigny in this department crossed by a tributary of the Seine. Following the worrying disappearance of Chantal Mellet, Frédéric Mellet, a breeder from the region and husband of the missing woman is the first suspect in this strange case. This Wednesday, January 18, 2023, the man placed in pre-trial detention by the prosecution saw his new request for release rejected by the Paris Court of Appeal according to our colleagues from France 3.
This goat farmer therefore remains in prison again. Information on which, master Franck Berton, the lawyer of Frédéric Mellet did not wish to speak. As a reminder, Frédéric Mellet was imprisoned in May 2022 for the murder of his wife, Chantal Mellet. This 54-year-old breeder has been missing since July 2020. A strange disappearance that quickly arouses the suspicions of investigators. Indeed, the one who raised goats with her husband for more than 20 years disappeared without giving any news to those around her. More worrying, Chantal Mellet left without a phone or bank card. Unusual behavior for this mother of 4 children.
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A twist in the case
However, Frédéric Mellet, is initially not worried by the actions of justice. The searches carried out by the police in the home and in the family garden lead to nothing. The husband of Chantal Mellet, even went so far as to confide in the disappearance of his wife to our colleagues from France Bleu Auxerres. “She was in her laboratory making her cheeses. I was milking goats. I disturbed her for two minutes, I said to her: “when you’re finished, we’ll have to talk about a personal matter”. there was no one“, explains the breeder at the microphone of France Blue.
It will be necessary to wait until the year 2022, that is to say 22 months after the disappearance of Chantal Mellet, so that a new twist allows the investigators to change their tune. After one of the couple’s young daughters changes her version of the facts concerning the day of her mother’s disappearance, the investigators believe they have enough incriminating evidence against Frédéric Mellet. Indeed, while she had always declared that her father was present at the family home on the morning of the disappearance of Chantal Mellet, the young girl ended up declaring that there was no one in the property that morning. On July 2, 2020, the father’s truck was therefore not there. Information that will weaken the alibi of the goat farmer and destabilize his defense. In the background, one of adultery of which the father was aware. “I wanted to ask him to end this relationship, the day of the facts. Let us resume our lives. Like many couples, there are ups and downs. Even if it’s complicated, we stay united, we have children together”, confides Frédéric Mellet to our colleagues from Yonne Républicaine. Today, the case is still under investigation by the Auxerre prosecutor’s office.