Sentenced for a murder he did not commit, Michel Courtois spent seven months behind bars. He ended up being cleared in 2012, when Yoni Palmier, the real Essonne killer, was arrested. Because of this miscarriage of justice, the innocent “lost everything”.
It all starts on November 27, 2011. A woman between life and death is found lying next to her car in the parking lot of a residence in Juvisy-sur-Orge (Essonne). Because of large amount of blood that she lost, the rescuers failed to save her. Her name is Nathalie Davidsis 35 years old and he was shot seven times. Investigators immediately lean towards a crime of passion. But who could have killed this laboratory technician? Quickly, suspicion turns to a certain Michel Courtois, the victim’s former lover. He was taken into custody on December 1. After claiming his innocence, this 46-year-old house painter ends up confess the crimeon December 3, during his fifth audition.
So he is indicted for murder. However, after a few days, he retracts and reconsiders his confession, accusing the police of exerting pressure on him. He is despite everything incarceratedand will not be released from prison until June 2012i.e. seven months later, when the real culprit, Yoni Palmier, is charged. The man nicknamed the killer of Essonne has just been implicated for three other murders, which the investigators will link to that of Nathalie Davids. And for good reason, it is the same weapon that was used for the four homicides. This innocent proof Michel Courtois, who, after his release, obtained a dismissal.
“I lost everything because of this story”
But this case leaves indelible traces in the life of this man. The loss of self-confidence, first. “It’s hard to think that if the murderer had stopped killing I might still be in prison”he tells the Parisian in 2015. If his name is cleared, in the minds of people, doubt still remains. “With the day of the arrest, the most traumatic is the look of people”he says. “Even though I’ve been cleared, I know some people still think there’s smoke without fire.” And then there are the financial issues. “I lost everything because of this story”, says Michel Courtois, according to European 1. “Justice has put me in a big mess. I owe tax money, months of rent”he continues. “I had late bills, but above all, I no longer have a job: no one wants to hire me on construction sites anymore“, asserts the house painter. In reparation, he claims €600,000 damages for wrongful detention, but hopes “200 or 250,000”. The president of the Paris Court of Appeal will grant him €18,000 moral and material damages, as well as €34,300 for his legal fees. During his trial, which was held from March 30 to April 17, 2015, the Essonne killer is sentenced to life imprisonment.