A police river shuttle on the banks of the Rhine in Lyon, June 27, 2011. CYRIL VILLEMAIN / 20 MINUTES -
C. VILLEMAIN / 20 MINUTES
The family and relatives of Jean-Christopher, whose body was discovered on September 9 on the banks of the Rhône in Lyon, are organizing a white march in his memory on Saturday afternoon.
They do not believe in the drowning hypothesis advanced by the medical examiner.
According to them, this father of three children, missing for four days, was murdered before being thrown into the water.
His body was found on September 9 on the banks of the Rhône in Lyon near the Cité internationale, four days after his disappearance.
A month and a half later, the relatives of Jean-Christopher, 35, will organize a white march on Saturday afternoon to pay homage and understand.
“We are completely bereft.
There are facts.
Today, we want to know what happened ", explains Ariane, her mother eager to" know the truth "whether" it is good or bad ".
Because the family of this father of three are convinced that he was murdered.
"There are sources, serious and concordant clues which make us say that it is about a murder", summarizes Jean-Christophe Basson-Larbi, the lawyer of the family who lodged a complaint for intentional homicide on October 14 before the Dean of investigating judges and complaint against X to the Lyon public prosecutor's office.
And to deplore: “Unfortunately, the investigation into the disappearance of Jean-Christopher is not the priority of justice.
This adds to the suffering of those close to him who have the impression that his death does not interest anyone ”.
Disturbing testimonies
"Toxicological analyzes were carried out and revealed a significant and recent consumption of alcohol and narcotic products in the deceased", responds the Lyon prosecutor's office adding that the autopsy did not reveal "any particular lesion" concluding in a " death by drowning ”.
A point disputed by Jean-Christophe Basson-Larbi.
“There is no autopsy report.
The elements we are talking about result from the hasty conclusions of the first findings of the forensic pathologist carried out on September 10, ”he assures, not convinced by the thesis of the accident.
According to him, the relatives of the deceased would have met three of the four "marginal", with whom Jean-Christopher spent his last evening, to try to elucidate the disappearance of their friend.
"The words reported are disturbing," reveals the lawyer.
“The first one indicated as an aside to Jean-Christopher's friends that we had to look over there, indicating the direction of the quays.
That was before his body was found there.
Other tramps accustomed to the place told them "they made him dirty", "he says.
The second individual allegedly explained to relatives that the victim had lent him his scooter and his credit card to go buy cigarettes.
“But it was clearly not Jean-Christopher's type.
And the scooter has not since been found, ”continues the lawyer.
The third would have told them: "Anyway, when we came back, your friend was already dead".
“Immediately after the discovery of the body, the entire camp of homeless people and dealers who had settled on this part of the quays, was suddenly lifted.
Today, we are clearly certain that he did not die in the water but that he was put there, ”says Jean-Christophe Basson-Larbi.
The existence of a video of the murder?
Other clues aroused his curiosity: the body submerged in the water for several days was difficult to recognize while his backpack, returned by the investigators, remained only partially in the river.
“The papers they put in his fanny pack and a Bible verse he kept are intact,” says the lawyer.
Without forgetting to mention a message that Jean-Christopher's mother received from a man explaining to her that he had in his possession a video of the murder but that he feared for his life ”.
Video that was not sent to him.
The Lyon public prosecutor's office specified, for its part, that "the investigators have carried out numerous hearings and endeavor to find and hear all the witnesses cited by the family".
But also that an investigating judge would be quickly appointed after the filing of two complaints by the lawyer.
"It goes without saying that contrary to what could be alleged, the Lyon public prosecutor's office and the investigators of the DDSP have been strongly mobilized since the start of this investigation to meet the legitimate expectations of the family of the deceased and determine the causes and circumstances of his death, ”he concludes.
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