In the pavilion of Aurélie Vaquier and her companion Samire L. in Bédarieux (Hérault), a large room under construction intrigued the gendarmes of the Montpellier research section. This is where the couple planned to set up a workshop for natural cosmetics and orgonites - mineral stones - as well as an “organic snack”. But, on April 7, the attention of investigators was drawn to a wooden platform 20 cm high on which are placed boxes as well as the remains of a disorderly site. As they remove the planks, they are amazed to discover a large cement slab hidden underneath. This is delimited by two beams, as if to mark the shape of a sarcophagus. The gendarmes decide to drill the structure ...
A wick emerges smeared with red: stains of blood. Dogs that specialize in finding bodies prick up their ears. The corpse of Aurélie Vaquier, 38, is discovered, wrapped in a tarpaulin. On her feet, she wears indoor slippers. His tattoos are visible. Present during this macabre search, Samire L. freezes the investigators with his indifference. At the sight of this cement coffin, he exclaims in disgust: "What is this?" It stinks ! The former soldier from Ain, aged 39, was immediately taken into custody before being indicted on April 9 for "aggravated murder" and imprisoned. “I am innocent […], he proclaims before the examining magistrate. That's all I have to say, I'm exhausted. "
Almost three months after the disappearance of Aurélie Vaquier, the investigations brought to light the many contradictions in the story of the companion.
A man of a disturbing personality, described as extremely cold and resistant to pressure.
"The investigators noted that the person concerned showed no sadness or reaction when it was confirmed to him that the corpse discovered was indeed that of his companion," notes a judicial summary about his emotional control.
"She went into something cool"
The autopsy of the body, moreover, suggests more of a premeditated act than of an improvised or impulsive act: no visible trace of violence on Aurélie, except a contusion to the chin. So much so that, from a source close to the investigation, we are looking at the trail of poisoning or suffocation using a pillow ... Additional analyzes are underway.
But what would be the motive for such an atrocious marital murder?
On February 23, when Samire L. reported Aurélie's disappearance to the police, he said that the couple was going through a rough patch: the repair work on their business project got bogged down.
He describes his partner, whom he met last summer at a campsite, as a woman with a "strong" character.
Shortly before evaporating, she told him that she was "exhausted", that she "was fed up" and that she "wanted to stop everything".
She would have even "farted a cable" during the Christmas holidays, after having had custody of her autistic son born from a previous union.
According to Samire L., the last news of his wife dates back to January 28.
Read also The last disturbing message from Aurélie Vaquier, missing for at least 60 days
She would have sent him a final message on Facebook to let him know that she was leaving to recharge his batteries while he was on a trip to Lyon. On his return, he would not have worried for almost a month because, according to his statements, Aurélie, whose survivalist and conspiratorial tendencies are proven, would have the habit of making stays away from Bédarieux to write. In front of the gendarmes, he assures us that his companion "has gone into something cool" and refuses to believe her dead.
Very quickly, however, the investigators noted several inconsistencies.
First, Aurélie left without a computer, tablet or glasses.
Two, his message is riddled with spelling mistakes, which is not his habit.
"A computer keyboard problem" at their home, speculate Samire L. in police custody.
Above all, the gendarmes discovered that Aurélie's cell phone line ceased all activity on January 26.
Likewise, his Facebook account strangely shows a notable drop in connections during the same period, except on the evening of the famous message announcing his spiritual excursion.
Has someone stolen his identity?
The autopsy of Aurélie Vaquier's body suggests more of a premeditated act than of an improvised or impulsive act.
DR
There is more disturbing: the gendarmes realize that Samire L. connected to the Badoo dating site on the declared day of the disappearance and spoke with no less than… 17 people.
The next day, January 29, he complained to a man in his contacts about being alone and invited him to spend time at his house.
Does he already know that Aurélie will never come back?
Investigators believe in any case that this interlocutor is a homosexual affair of the suspect, which he disputes, although he acknowledges having already had experiences with men.
On February 15, Samire L. also confides to a friend that he is no longer in a relationship with Aurélie, even though he has not yet reported his disappearance!
And then there are these three withdrawals made by the suspect between January 27 and February 13 for 100 euros with Aurélie's credit card ...
Compromising photos
Finally, the gendarmes are contacted by a woman explaining that she sold her smartphone to Samire L. at the end of January, whom she recognized in a TV report.
She reportedly noticed shortly after the transaction, on February 9, that photos taken by the suspect, with plaster on him, appeared in his online storage - "the cloud" - of his new laptop.
The next day, she reportedly came to her home to ask her to deactivate the option.
She would then have seen him in construction clothes, still covered in plaster, with, near him, wooden beams and cement in a bucket.
Samire L. would have been expeditious.
Was it the day he was making Aurélie's vault?
During his custody, the thirty-something disputes any responsibility for the murder of his companion, without being able to explain why the body was buried at their home.
But the trail of a crime committed by an outside killer is fragile.
Aurélie was in house attire and the two keys to the apartment, mentioned by Samire L. during his first hearing, were found during the search.
He finally spoke of a third key in Aurélie's possession but the investigators doubt it: the model can only be copied through the brand ...
Contacted, his lawyer Me Mathieu Montfort did not wish to speak.
For its part, the Vaquier family, represented by Messrs. Jean-Charles Teissedre and Félix Allary, remains convinced of the guilt of this companion who showed little enthusiasm during the battles.
To read also "Samire was in panic, a rather serious crisis", confides a friend of the victim
According to our information, the disturbing profile of Samire L. prompts justice to question his past and his possible involvement in other crimes.
Thus, the police officers of the Central Office for the Repression of Violence against Persons (OCRVP) are studying its lead in the Magalie Part affair, a 20-year-old cold-case, after a report from an association of disappeared who noted several similarities.
It appears that the man was the same age as the victim - 19 - and also lived in a small village in the Pays de Gex when she was found charred dead on the side of a road in March 2001. A portrait -robot published at the time could present similarities.