The circumstances of the death of Julien Boumlil and Gabriel Ferchal are beginning to become clear. The two Merino brothers, known for violence in the past and indicted for intentional homicide last week in this case, have indeed acknowledged before the investigators part of their involvement in these murders linked to a financial dispute over drugs . A quarrel that had lasted for several weeks and which ended in early December with hunting rifle fire.
On February 4, the bodies of Julien Boumlil and his friend Gabriel Ferchal were discovered buried on the family property of the Merino brothers in Revest-du-Bion (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence).
According to our information, Julien Boumlil, 25, from Malves-en-Minervois, near Carcassonne (Aude), had advanced several thousand euros a few years ago for the purchase of narcotic drugs from Vincent Merino, a thirty-something encountered in " chuck ”. But Julien Boumlil would never have been reimbursed and this claim was starting to weigh on him, which he regularly shared with Vincent Merino. "Relations were not looking good," said a judicial source.
Also, on December 3, the young Audois decided to leave Malves-en-Minervois, with his lifelong friend, Gabriel Ferchal, in the direction of Revest-du-Bion, more than 300 km from his home, to recover his dues.
"Did he go with Gabriel to intimidate him, because he was afraid, or because the road is more fun for two?" ", Questioned a source close to the investigation. What is certain, according to a close relative of Julien's family, is that he "would never have taken Gaby, who was a father, if he thought he was in danger".
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Arrived on the Merino property at the end of the afternoon in Revest-du-Bion, the discussion went awry, without anyone knowing the details yet. Shots, probably from hunting rifles, were fired at close range on the two Audois, tells us a source close to the investigation. According to the first observations, which highlight the chaos of the scene, Julien and Gabriel succumbed to shots from the front and from the back.
The rest, too, remains unclear but the investigators are particularly interested in a small service that the Merinos would have asked one of their neighbors: in early December, the two brothers would have borrowed from him "a lifting machine which was to be used to bury a horse. " The bodies of Julien Boumlil and Gabriel Ferchal were found buried on the Merino property thanks to the scent of dogs from the Gramat national dog investigation group.
As for Julien Boumlil's Volkswagen Passat, researched since early December by investigators, it was discovered in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône). Which would explain why Julien's phone "which was in the car", indicates a close relative of the family, was limited to Rognes, about sixty kilometers south of Revest-du-Bion, on the night of 3 to 4 December, when the two young people were probably deceased at that time.
The investigators are continuing their investigations. Vincent and Frédéric Merino were charged and placed in pre-trial detention late last week. It is not known whether their mother, a 72-year-old woman with fragile health, was present at the time of the crime, but was not worried.
