He hasn't moved an iota.
Locked, padlocked, braced, despite the inconsistencies and the mystery of a mobile, on his version of Arthur Noyer's death on the night of April 11 to 12, 2017 in Chambéry (Savoie): that of an involuntary death during of a fight because of the violent punches he gave her in defense.
"The truth, yes, I will give it," said Nordahl Lelandais three days ago in front of one of her friends.
"He will speak at the scheduled time," his lawyer had since indicated.
So on the fifth day of the hearing, when the former soldier stands in the box, a leaden silence reigns.
- "Do you have a statement to make?"
Anything else to say?
»Proposes the president of the Assize Court.
- "No", answers the accused.
Four hours later, his defender tries in his turn.
Turned towards him, Me Alain Jakubowicz stares at him.
He is familiar with it.
He said to him: “The criminal qualification is my problem as a lawyer.
The question of the truth is your problem.
What the families of victims are looking for is the truth.
If there is a sexual motive, it won't change your conviction.
I ask you the question for the last time: do you have something else to say?
We redid the course, we know that you killed Arthur Noyer.
What we don't know is the why.
Why ?
"
- "What I said is what happened," said Nordahl Lelandais.
There is nothing sexual.
Nothing at all.
"
Multiple versions
Before starting to question him on the facts, the president of the Assize Court reminded him that "among the testimonial evidence", the confession "is not indifferent"; not essential either. "My goal is not to make you confess but to make sure that we understand if all this is consistent, if there are elements of inconsistency," he warned. And there are ...
François-Xavier Manteaux first questions the multiple versions that Nordahl Lelandais delivered during the investigation.
December 2017, he was imprisoned for the murder case of little Maëlys D'Araujo and the young corporal's skull has just been identified: “I didn't kill anyone, I don't understand.
»After 48 hours of custody:« I have nothing to do with Arthur Noyer, nor with the human remains ».
March 2018: “We fought very violently.
He fell.
With panic I didn't know what to do, I brought him to the place where you found the bones.
"Injured in the brow bone, he is suddenly no longer when he learns that three witnesses who saw him on April 13 described his face unharmed ...
Read alsoNordahl Lelandais trial: when the accused seems to waver
“Should we believe the 1st, 2nd or 4th version?
insists the president.
Why didn't you say it all right away?
"" Because it's complicated, confuses Lelandais.
I couldn't explain myself.
There was a time when I was on medication… On TV, we talked about me, my family.
It blocked me… ”Then he admits:“ It's cowardice, a lack of courage, I admit it.
It's hard to say we killed a man.
"
"I was no longer in my place"
After having followed those of Arthur Noyer in recent days, the court is immersed in the footsteps of Nordahl Lelandais. On April 11, he exchanges text messages with Richard then Camille, whom he met on websites: “The goal was to have sex. He dines with his friend Nazim then leaves for Chambéry. Why these car journeys in the city? “Your companions say that you have great sexual needs, one speaks of impulses. We see you wandering. Are you not looking, if not for prey, for the possibility of having sex with someone? “Asks the president. "No," said Lelandais, "I wanted to find friends."
“You had, in the same period of time, a multiplicity of sexual orientations and even an interest in children, you say what? »Asked the general counsel, Thérèse Brunisso. He answers side by side: "I don't know, I was more in my place. My friends were advancing, I was not advancing. "
We sink into the night. The president comes as Nordahl Lelandais hitchhikes Arthur Noyer at a roundabout around 3 a.m. “Within half an hour, he told seven people he wanted to go back to Barby Barracks. Why did you go to Saint-Baldoph? "Lelandais:" Because he asks me, Mr. President. At 3:31 am and 3:41 am, when he turns off his two cell phones, the fight has already taken place and the young corporal is on the ground, dead. "Do you want to save him by doing heart massages?" "The accused:" Yes. There should be a manual of emotions. It's complicated to see someone fall like this. He says he's panicking and still thinks about turning off both of his phones. Why ? “So that they don't call me, that they don't know that I'm here. "
Passed at 3:08 am at the Saint-Baldoph roundabout, the Audi A3 of Nordahl Lelandais returns in the other direction at 5:40 am. The body of his victim is in his trunk. The accused says he wandered for two and a half hours in search of a “discreet place” to get rid of him before heading towards the Marocaz pass - where the corporal's remains will be found. Why the mountain? Why not there, where he could have had a dignified burial? “Because I wanted to escape my responsibilities. "
In the case of Maëlys too, underlines the president, Nordahl Lelandais turned off his phones and looked for a hidden place to deposit his remains.
François-Xavier Manteaux suddenly enumerates the points common to the two crimes: "Blows given without intention to kill, a body put in the safe, an extinction of cell phone, the search for a place to make the body disappear, a denial of the facts until the elements of the investigation undermine your statements… ”Then he asks her:“ Do we agree?
»-« Yes », says Lelandais.
To his lawyer, who hands him a pole to explain how that year this "rather banal guy", loved by his family and friends, turned into a suspected double murderer, the accused, petrified, n The answer is: "Because I was not moving forward".