His attempts to call the emergency services were in vain, his companion left him no chance.
Céline Jardon, 20, died Monday, January 17 in the early evening of her injuries after being hit and stabbed numerous times.
Judicial information was opened on Wednesday with the seizure of an investigating judge for "
spousal homicide
" and "
habitual violence against a spouse
", said the deputy prosecutor of the Republic of Besançon, Christine de Curraize, in a press release sent to
Le Figaro
on Thursday.
At the end of his police custody, the defendant was placed in pre-trial detention.
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Monday, around 7:30 p.m., several residents of a building located at 88 rue Battant, in the city center of Besançon, were alerted by the cries of a woman: those of a close friend of the victim whom she called for help and immediately went to her home.
That evening, the two young women had agreed by telephone to go out together.
But Céline Jardon had called her back shortly after, frightened, asking her to come to her aid and call the police.
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In the camera of the small apartment, Céline Jardon is discovered by her friend, lying on the ground, seriously injured. Despite the rapid intervention of the firefighters and their attempts to keep the young woman alive, the latter succumbed to her injuries. Beside her, a knife is found. The autopsy will confirm that it is indeed the murder weapon. At the same time, police officers rushed to the scene of the tragedy apprehended an individual on the public highway, "
in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene
", according to the deputy prosecutor. The individual shows traces of blood on his clothes and immediately admits to the police his responsibility in the death of Céline Jardon. He confesses to having committed "
the irreparable
and having stabbed the young woman several times.
Traces of blows and
“defense injuries”
An autopsy carried out in the wake reveals "
18 frank wounds by stabbing
", details Christine de Curraize. What is more, in lethal areas, such as the neck and back, at the level of the left hemithorax "
with a wound resulting in a lesion at the level of the lung and partially severing the aorta
". Wound which, resulting in significant internal bleeding, is the cause of death. In addition to the stab wounds, numerous traces of blows were found on the victim's body. On the arms in particular but also on the face and on the skull. Marks that bear witness
to “a particularly violent scene
”, further points out the deputy prosecutor.
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Another striking element which testifies to the fierce fight that Céline Jardon led for her survival, the medical examiner notes "
defense injuries
" on the young woman's body.
Placed in police custody, the respondent acknowledges his involvement but says he is unable to specify the circumstances of his acting out.
“
He claims to be in shock and to have kept only very fragmentary memories of the facts
”, specifies Christine de Curraize.
Aged 34, he has already been sentenced by the courts on numerous occasions, but mainly for offenses involving damage to property.
He has never been tried for acts of domestic violence and has never even been the subject of an investigation for this reason.
No complaint filed but a record of violence
Céline Jardon had never filed a complaint against her companion.
However, she had requested the intervention of the police at her home last April "
following an altercation with the suspect whom she then designated as her ex-companion
".
She then reported violence suffered as well as damage to her home but refused to file a complaint, despite the invitation of the police to do so.
A social worker had also contacted the young woman to offer her social and psychological support, which she again did not follow up on.
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Investigations are continuing on letters rogatory.
It is for the investigators to shed light on the liabilities of this couple, the exact circumstances of the passage to the criminal act and the personality of the suspect.
The name of Céline Jardon is added to the list of other women who have died since the beginning of 2022 in France under the blows of their companion or ex-companion.
This tragedy comes three weeks after that of rue de Dole, in Besançon, where a woman had her throat cut by her 61-year-old companion.
Placed in police custody, the respondent had quickly recognized the facts, explaining that he could not bear the announcement of his companion to leave him after 40 years of living together.
According to the feminist collective #NousToutes, 113 women died in France under the blows of their spouse or ex-spouse in 2021.
