The alleged murderer of Martine Escadeillas, a secretary who disappeared in Toulouse in 1986, will be tried in early July by the Assize Court of Haute-Garonne, said the lawyer for the civil parties on Wednesday evening April 6.
Read alsoUnsolved case of 1986: new request for the release of the accused
The trial of Joël Bourgeon, imprisoned in 2019 in this "
very singular cold case in many respects
", will take place from July 1 to 6, Me Frédéric David told AFP.
The Toulouse Court of Appeal had rejected on January 25 a new request for the release of Joël Bourgeon, a decision deemed "
frankly incomprehensible
", while "
the trial is still not scheduled
", had then reacted the lawyer for the accused, Me Eric Mouton.
“
I remind you that we have no body, no motive, no DNA, and the only witness exonerates Joël.
This man, who has never been convicted, is a father who, moreover, has always worked
, “said Mr. Mouton.
The gendarmes of the Toulouse research section have long failed in their attempt to elucidate the case.
It was following a reorientation of the investigation that Joël Bourgeon, a former friend of the missing woman and her companion, was arrested in January 2019. While in police custody, he confessed to the murder, before retract a week later.
Martine Escadeillas, 24, disappeared on December 8, 1986 after dropping off her companion at a bus stop in Ramonville, a residential suburb of Toulouse where she lived.
Afterwards, she never showed up for work and bloodstains were discovered in the stairwell of her apartment building.
