The defamation complaint of Jonathann Daval, sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment for the murder of his wife Alexia, against the latter's mother and sister, was dismissed, the Vesoul prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday.
The procedure opened for defamation was
“disclosed for lack of prior complaint”
, Jonathann Daval not wishing
“to cause any further harm, with a new complaint, to the Fouillot family”
, specifies prosecutor Arnaud Grécourt in a press release.
On February 19, Mr. Daval's lawyers filed a complaint with the Vesoul public prosecutor for
"public defamation"
, targeting comments made by Isabelle Fouillot and Stéphanie Gay, Alexia's mother and sister, in the fourth episode of the television series entitled “Alexia notre fille” and broadcast by the Canal + channel.
“Upon receipt of this complaint, an investigation was ordered.
It appears from the hearing of Mr. Jonathann Daval, carried out by the gendarmerie services, that he has not viewed the documentary"
and that he
"does not wish to file a complaint against Isabelle Fouillot and Stéphanie Gay"
, specifies the prosecutor.
“A new version of the affair”
The law of July 29, 1881 on freedom of the press - which provides for and sanctions defamation -
"makes the complaint of the defamed person an essential precondition for the exercise of prosecution"
, notes Arnaud Grécourt.
However,
“given the desire of Mr. Jonathann Daval not to file a complaint for these acts of defamation”
, expressed
“on several occasions”
,
“no criminal proceedings can be brought”
, according to the magistrate.
According to the complaint initially filed, Isabelle Fouillot and Stéphanie Gay presented in the series
“an unprecedented version of the affair, unequivocally accusing Jonathann Daval of having deliberately poisoned his wife to cause the miscarriage”
and
“to make her crazy” and cause discomfort
.
However, these elements on a possible poisoning of Alexia Daval had been dismissed during the trial before the Haute-Saône Assize Court.
The complaint denounced
“a desire to present the Daval affair to the public from an inaccurate angle”
with the aim of
“harming”
Jonathann Daval.
The latter will also appear on April 10 before the Besançon criminal court for slanderous denunciation against his in-laws, in particular for having accused his brother-in-law of being the author of the murder of Alexia, before admitting his lie.
Jonathann Daval strangled his 29-year-old wife in 2017 at their home in Gray-la-Ville (Haute-Saône), before burning her body in a wood.
For three months, Jonathann Daval had shown the face of a grieving widower in the media, before being confused, in the midst of the #MeToo wave.