Tuesday, January 19, Jean-Marc Reiser, 60, recognized
“his exclusive involvement”
in the death of young Sophie Le Tan.
Le Figaro
returns to the chronology of this case, which will probably lead to a trial at the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022.
Read also: Sophie Le Tan affair: Jean-Marc Reiser admits to having killed the student
September 7, 2018: Sophie Le Tan disappears
On September 7, 2018, Sophie Le Tan must celebrate her twentieth birthday with her parents.
But the young woman first goes to Schiltigheim (Bas-Rhin), in the suburbs of Strasbourg, to visit an apartment spotted online.
Hours go by and the student, who is about to begin her third year of a license in economics and management at the University of Strasbourg, does not join her family.
The concern of those around him grows.
September 13, 2018: judicial information is open
The disappearance of Sophie Le Tan is reported to the authorities and the search begins.
On September 10, a call for witnesses was broadcast.
On the 13th, the Strasbourg prosecutor announced the opening of a judicial investigation for "kidnapping" and "sequestration".
Read also: Disappearance in Strasbourg: open judicial information
At the same time, a significant movement of support is created around the relatives of the young woman, from a family of Vietnamese origin living in Cernay (Haut-Rhin).
Throughout the investigation, this mobilization will not weaken.
September 15, 2018: Jean-Marc Reiser is arrested
Eight days after the disappearance of Sophie Le Tan, the author of the real estate classified ad that interested the student is arrested.
At the end of his police custody, Jean-Marc Reiser is indicted for "kidnapping", "kidnapping" and "murder" and placed in pre-trial detention.
Read also: Student missing in Strasbourg: the suspect indicted for murder
The 58-year-old man, who claims his innocence, is no stranger to justice.
In 2001, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for "rape" of a hitchhiker and her former mistress by the Assize Court of Doubs.
A sentence confirmed the following year on appeal by the Bas-Rhin Assize Court.
October 23, 2019: Sophie Le Tan's body is found
For months, the investigators in charge of the case patiently accumulate
"overwhelming evidence"
against the suspect: telephone data, internet searches, traces of blood in the apartment, on a saw, on shoes ...
On October 23, 2019, a dismembered skeleton was discovered in a forest in Bas-Rhin.
The analyzes quickly show that this is the remains of Sophie Le Tan.
In early November, a Buddhist ceremony is organized in memory of the young woman.
December 2020: the investigation is nearing its end
Throughout the investigation, Jean-Marc Reiser is very active, including going to the court of cassation to request the annulment of evidence.
He persists in denying being involved in this affair, and repeatedly calls for his release.
His requests are systematically refused.
To read also: Disappearance of Sophie Le Tan: the request for release of Jean-Marc Reiser rejected
Despite the denials of the one and only suspect, the investigation is moving forward.
In December 2020, judicial information is communicated to the prosecution so that the latter can take its final requisitions.
Jean-Marc Reiser then asks to be received by the examining magistrate in charge of the case.
January 19, 2021: Jean-Marc Reiser admits to having killed the student
Heard on January 19, 2021, the respondent finally delivers a confession.
Referring to advances rejected by Sophie Le Tan, he confesses to having killed the young woman on September 7, 2018, in her apartment in Schiltigheim.
However, he denies having had a homicidal intention and having premeditated his action.
Read also: Sophie Le Tan affair: Jean-Marc Reiser admits to having killed the student
These confessions are confirmed by the Strasbourg prosecutor's office in a press release.
“Jean-Marc Reiser has acknowledged his exclusive involvement in the death of the young student.
He also admitted to having dismembered the body of the victim in order to facilitate its transport and then to have concealed it in the forest ”
, writes the prosecutor Yolande Renzi.
And now?
The Strasbourg public prosecutor's office concludes its press release of January 19 by indicating:
"The judicial investigation continues in view of these new elements"
.
The investigation of the file is indeed relaunched by the late confession of Jean-Marc Reiser.
At the end of this judicial investigation, the investigating judge will decide either to pronounce a dismissal - which seems very unlikely - or to send the sexagenarian back to the Bas-Rhin Assize Court to be tried there.