“Fifteen years of endless waiting”: the mother of Caroline Marcel, jogger killed in 2008, reacts to the indictment of the suspect

La mère de Caroline Marcel se confie sur la mise en examen d'un suspect du meurtre de sa fille. Appel à témoins

Ce samedi 20 janvier 2024, le suspect interpellé dans le cadre du meurtre de la joggeuse Caroline Marcel a été mis en examen et placé en détention provisoire. La mère de la victime réagit à cette évolution de l'affaire.

This Thursday, January 18, a 34-year-old man was arrested and taken into custody after his DNA was mixed up in the case of the murder of Caroline Marcel, a jogger killed in 2008. This Saturday, the prosecution de Nanterre announces the indictment and placement in pre-trial detention of the latter. The victim's mother reacted to this twist in the case, with our colleagues at BFMTV.

"You shouldn't run alone"

If the mystery had hovered for 15 years over the murder of her daughter, Françoise Marcel, the mother of the jogger killed in 2008, was disturbed by the twist in this affair.

"I was shaken by this news. We have been waiting endlessly for 15 years, we have always kept hope", she confided. If this news is a shock for the mother, who was informed of developments in the investigation at the beginning of the week, the latter expresses her "relief".

Françoise Marcel also returned to her daughter's character and passions. She describes Caroline as a very jovial, sporty woman who had a passion for music". "I often told her: 'you shouldn't run alone'", her mother whispers. Despite her advice, Caroline was killed in June 2008.

"We can't give up"

Mystery hovered around this affair and Françoise Marcel had certain doubts about the author of the murder. "For 15 years, I have always had suspicions about my daughter's partner", she explained, while specifying that an argument had broken out between the two, the day before Caroline's death. This evokes a "toxic liaison", with our colleagues.

For his part, Patrice A., the ex-husband, wants to be reassured by this indictment. "This n& ;#39;s not really a relief, but it was necessary for the progress of this case. We cannot give up. We thought that maybe one day someone would speak…, he told BFMTV , explaining that he had participated in television shows to try to get new testimonies.

"Fortunately, the advancement of technology has made it possible to find this tiny trace on the keys and which today allows us to confuse did someone", was he satisfied.

A cold case

The body of the jogger was found in June 2008 by a walker near the town of Olivet located south of the city of Orléans. immersed in the Loiret by a walker. 

Caroline Marcel's face showed traces of swelling and blows. She also had wounds on the back of her head and neck. The bra she was wearing had been removed and her t-shirt used by the murderer to get abroad.

DNA mixed up

Placed in police custody, the suspect denied his involvement in the murder of the jogger, without explaining the presence of his DNA on the famous key. At the  rsquo;at the time of the events, he was 18 years old and worked as a landscaper in Orléans, not far from the crime scene.

Today, the 34-year-old man lives in Pamiers, in Ariège and is unemployed. He is known to the police and justice services, having been involved in a case of touching a minor, which did not result in a trial, and convicted in 2009 for sexual assault. The suspect declared during this last trial that he himself had been the victim of an incestuous rape in his childhood, without his accusations being able to be corroborated, reports Le Parisien.