The "bull of the Ardennes", Philippe Gillet, condemned on appeal for the assassination of his mistress

Eight years after the facts, the verdict is in: the Marne Assize Court of Appeal sentenced Thursday, April 22, Philippe Gillet, a 49-year-old farmer, to 30 years in prison for the murder of his lover Anaïs Guillaume, but acquitted him of the murder of his wife Céline.

On Wednesday April 21, life imprisonment with a 22-year security sentence had been requested by the attorneys general.

To discover

• Her tenant owes her more than 31,000 euros, she lives in a motorhome

Read also: The bones found in the Ardennes are those of Anaïs Guillaume, who died in 2013

The one who is nicknamed "

the bull of the Ardennes

" denied outright.

According to him, his wife Céline Gillet died following an accident: she was run over by a cow in the milking parlor.

Her lover and trainee, Anaïs Guillaume, had mysteriously disappeared after an evening with friends in 2013. The young woman, aged 20, had just taken a professional agricultural baccalaureate, and had presented herself to Philippe Gillet for an internship on his farm in 2011. The farmer is seduced by Anaïs, and the two lovers begin an affair.

A first trial

Several elements lead investigators on the trail of Philippe Gillet.

Apart from the fact that this is the last person to have seen the young girl alive, the investigators note that, on the day of Anaïs disappearance, Philippe Gillet bought 50 kilograms of lime.

In addition, the Belgian police noted that the seat of Anaïs' car, found completely burnt and without a license plate about ten kilometers from Philippe Gillet's farm, was not adjusted to its size, the pedals were finding it too far from her feet for her to press on, reports

Marianne

.

To read also: Reims: perpetuity required against Philippe Gillet for the death of his wife and his lover

Six years after the events, in April 2019, Philippe Gillet was tried for the assassination of Anaïs Guillaume before the Assize Court of the Ardennes.

He was sentenced to 22 years in prison and was acquitted for the murder of his wife.

The court had not accepted the premeditation and the general prosecutor's office had appealed.

A mysterious crow

A few weeks later, investigators receive a strange letter which states that Anaïs Guillaume was kidnapped in Belgium until 2016, then killed and buried on Philippe Gillet's land to have him accused. "

Stop the real culprits,

" summons the crow. The remains of the young woman are indeed found, in November 2019, on the farmer's property. The eldest daughter of Philippe Gillet is then summoned by the investigators and admits to being the author of the mysterious letter, written and posted at the request of her father.

“

I am innocent. I did nothing

”, has not ceased to hammer Philippe Gillet since April 6, the date of the start of his second trial. This time, if the farmer is again acquitted for the murder of his wife, he receives, on the other hand, not 22 years in prison, but 30 years, even as the attorneys general demanded life imprisonment. After eight years of combat, it is a "

relief

" for the family of Anaïs, affirmed their lawyer, Me Damien Delavenne, to AFP.