On July 1, a Upper Garonne court is hearing a landmark case of more than 35 years: the disappearance of 24-year-old Martin Escadillas in the suburbs of Toulouse in late 1986.
The accused, Joel Bourgeois, the secretary’s friend’s companion, confessed to killing him before refusing. His lawyer says to himself.decided to acquit himduring this trial, which is scheduled to last until Wednesday, July 6.
On the other hand, the sisters and brother of Martin Escadilas, convinced of the guilt of the accused, hope that he will tell the court where the body is.
Bald head
On December 8, 1986, at about 8:30 a.m., Martin dropped his companion Thierry at a bus stop. He immediately returned home to Ramonville, a suburb of Toulouse, and then disappeared. The presence of blood in the stairs և the testimony of the victim immediately prompts the attack. This resident, in particular, claims that he heard crying and saw a man in his forties with a bald head, which was pressed against the woman.
These statements will guide part of the investigation until investigators conclude years later that this incident could not be seen clearly enough to accurately describe it. For the lawyer of the Escadil family, Frederick David.this testimony defiled the investigation«. Joel Bourgeois, among others, does not fit this description. He is justified, like Thierry, who has an alibi. Several other clues, including the possible involvement of serial killer Patrice Allegri, have been investigated before they were also abandoned.
Terminated in 2019
In 2016, a letter from an acquaintance of a missing woman resumed the Bourgeois trail. The accused and Martine’s companion played football together, went on motorcycle trips and were invited to dinner the day before Martine’s disappearance. A few weeks after this disappearance, Joel Bourgeois unexpectedly left to settle in Lyon without visiting Martin’s family. In the Lyon region, which was 23 years old at the time, he had an affair with a 16-year-old girl, with whom he will stay for five years.
In 2019, he was arrested in Lyon. While in police custody, he confessed to killing Martin and informed the gendarmes of the details of the murder. For the investigators, these details could have been known only to the murderer. Joel Bourgeois recalls a week later, saying that his confession was dictated to him by the gendarmes. After that he is in pre-trial detention. According to his former companion, he spoke with admiration about Martine and asked her to make her hair look like him.
“Rest with dignity”
Eric Mouton, Joel Bourgeois’s lawyer, notes the absence.specific elementsagainst his client. He admits that “confessions that always raise questions, even if they were received without a lawyer«. He, however, finds that these statements of the accused.full of contradictions։ Do not prove his guilt. On the other hand, once the testimonies that led to part of the investigation more than 30 years ago are ignored, other relationships involving people other than Joel Bourgeois, according to Mr. Schip, should be reopened.
In turn, the missing sister, Nicole Saint-Blancat, hopes that this trial will allow Joel Bourgeois to determine the location of the missing body. «If he goes back to his confession, he will free his conscience again. If he says what he did to Martine’s body, it will be better, his pain will ease.“, He explains. The family, he adds, will then succeed.find Martine’s body so she can rest with her parents with dignity«.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.