The shadow of the violent Romanian pimping network that exploited Mihaela Miloiu, found dead, her face unrecognizable, in a Jura forest in 2016, hovered Wednesday, September 22 over the foundations of the Jura, on the first day of the appeal trial of the accused border worker for having killed her.
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Sentenced last December to 20 years of criminal imprisonment at first instance for the savage murder of this 18-year-old Romanian, Alexandre Verdure reaffirmed his position at the start of the hearing: "
she is still the same, not guilty
".
He admitted to transporting his body
Now 34 years old, this former security guard was working in Switzerland and was living in Mouthe (Doubs) with his wife and son at the time of the events.
He always denied having killed the young woman.
On the other hand, he admitted to having transported and abandoned his body in the communal forest of Frasnois (Jura), in France.
Only his DNA was found on the victim.
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According to his version, two strangers would have arisen when he had just had a paid relationship with Mihaela Miloiu on the night of November 29 to 30, 2016 in Sullens (Switzerland). One would have threatened him while the other killed the young woman. The two men then allegedly forced him to dispose of the body under threat.
The defense lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, estimated that the investigators had quickly been "
persuaded that Alexandre Verdure was guilty
", abandoning the trail of the "
ultra-violent
"
prostitution network
.
"
We are almost certain that the pimps knew that this poor girl wanted to run away
", she had spoken about it with her mother "
precisely on the day she died
", he noted, thus considering a motive to kill her with a great violence.
"Particularly consistent" elements
“
In 20 years, I have never seen a victim killed by the client, but I have had victims killed by traffickers (of human beings) because they tried to leave the network,
” explained Iana Matei , president of the NGO for the protection of women victims of human trafficking Reaching Out Romania, invited by the defense to testify on the functioning and violence of these networks.
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A version rejected by the investigation director of the French gendarmerie, Dominique Hennequin, who came to testify: "
we did not focus on Alexandre Verdure, the elements which lead to him are particularly consistent
".
At the time of the murder, the young woman's pimps were being wiretapped as part of an investigation for pimping carried out by the Swiss authorities.
However, at the time of her disappearance, "
the clan is looking for her (according to the eavesdropping), they would like to know where she left
", adds Laurent Cottier, inspector of the cantonal police of Vaud.
26 stab wounds
Mihaela Miloiu, a Romanian teenager who fell under the influence of a "
lover boy
" who had seduced her and then prostituted her on the Swiss sidewalks, has long remained "
the unknown of the Frasnois
".
Her naked body, stabbed 26 times, had been discovered by loggers on December 15, 2016. All the bones in her face were shattered by the blows, making her unrecognizable.
A facial reconstruction was necessary to establish his 3D robot portrait.
It was almost by chance that French and Swiss gendarmes had discovered his identity.
The investigators then confused Alexandre Verdure who went on November 30, 2016 to the hospital of Pontarlier (Doubs) to seek treatment for a wound to a hand.
The court will deliver its verdict on Friday.
