On December 19, 2008, the body of Catherine Burgod was found stabbed with 28 stab wounds in the post office of Montreal-la-Cluse (Ain).
Gérard Thomassin, a former hope of French cinema, has long been the number one suspect.
The actor has been missing for two years.
Another suspect, Mamadou Diallo, will be the only one to appear before the Assises de l'Ain, where the trial will begin on Monday.
Who killed Catherine Burgod, the postwoman of Montreal-la-Cluse?
Who could blame this 41-year-old mother, pregnant with her third child?
A discreet woman, without history, whose body, larded with 28 stab wounds, was found on December 19, 2008 at her workplace.
At the time of the opening of the trial, the mystery remains intact.
"The unknown of the post office", as the journalist Florence Aubenas calls it in her dedicated book of the affair, has still not revealed his identity.
According to the prosecution, the motive would be villainous and the loot to the tune of almost 3,000 euros.
On Monday, only one suspect will appear before the Assizes of Ain.
This is Mamadou Diallo.
This is the latest twist in a case that has been in the news for more than ten years.
The latest twist in a thorny case in which a former hope of French cinema has long been the number one suspect.
Gérald Thomassin, the "petty criminal" who became suspect number 1
A few days after the tragedy, the investigators will quickly take an interest in Gérald Thomassin, a former drug addict.
A battered life who had his moment of glory in 1991, when he was awarded the César for best male hope for his role in "The little criminal".
Since then, the man has become rare on the big screen.
He drowns his unhappiness in alcohol and leads a chaotic life.
Settled in Montreal-la-Cluse since June 2007, he lives in an apartment called “La Grotte”, a half-buried studio whose main window overlooks the sidewalk located in front of the Post Office.
This is where he shares his days with his stoned buddies, “Tintin” and “Rambouille”.
Investigators have no evidence against him, nor does his DNA match those taken from the crime scene.
But the man intrigues.
In the village, we see him crying on the grave of the postwoman.
We hear him, completely drunk, telling or miming the way in which the victim would have been killed.
He talks too much, indulges in strangers.
He is known for his strange behavior, his excesses of anger, his aggressiveness, his violence towards his ex-partner.
But the material evidence is lacking.
Confessions too, until June 24, 2013.
That day, the actor, who is placed on telephone tapping, calls his brother.
Completely drunk and under the influence of narcotics, he repeats "no less than 30 times" that he killed the postwoman.
He is indicted two days later and then imprisoned.
The Diallo trail
In 2016, the cards are reshuffled.
Thomassin is released at the end of his period of pre-trial detention.
The investigation, which is now entrusted to two investigating judges from Lyon, is starting on new bases.
A second suspect, considered to be Thomassin's accomplice, is indicted before being exonerated.
The gendarmes trample.
But in 2017, a new twist.
The DNA of another man, aged 29, matches that which was found on the sports bag of the postwoman.
He is a complete stranger to the justice services, even though he was the subject of a complaint for credit card theft by a former girlfriend.
A case closed without further action.
The man, whose name is Mamadou Diallo, is an ambulance driver and has no connection with the two previous suspects.
He is described as "calm, helpful, non-violent and hardworking".
The year of the murder, he was in apprenticeship but there again, his former bosses are formal.
The kid was "polite", "punctual", "nice" and "always smiling".
The profile does not match.
But the DNA is his.
Placed in police custody, the suspect fluctuates in his version of the facts and ends up admitting to having gone to the post office the day of the tragedy in order to buy a train ticket.
It was there that he would have discovered the body of Catherine Burgot, would have touched it before stealing the recipe of the day and clearing out.
“I was 18, and at that age.
I am aware that I should not have done that, he confesses in police custody.
At the time I was panicked but I could never have killed someone, I just wanted to buy my ticket.
»
The mysterious disappearance of Thomassin
Since then, the man has claimed his innocence.
He admits having stolen the money but maintains that he was afraid of being wrongly accused of the murder.
On August 29, the investigating judge decides to organize a confrontation between the three indicted, Gérald Thomassin, his supposed accomplice and Mamadou Diallo who is now the main suspect.
Only, Gérald Thomassin, who was about to be exonerated, will never appear.
The day before, however, he had made arrangements to return to Lyon.
Exiled in Charente-Maritime, he had to take a train and a correspondence in Nantes.
The actor boarded the first convoy well, he was even fined for having traveled without a ticket.
But arrived in Nantes, he disappeared from radar.
No one has ever seen him since August 28, 2019. A judicial investigation for "kidnapping and forcible confinement" was opened two months later.
Investigations turned up nothing.
In June 2020, the investigating chamber of the Lyon Court of Appeal confirmed the dismissal order issued in respect of him.
He is therefore definitely exonerated in the case.
The verdict is expected on April 4.
Justice
Gérald Thomassin case: A dismissal for the ex-actor accused of the murder of a postwoman in 2008
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La Rochelle: The prosecution launches an investigation for kidnapping after the disappearance of actor Gérald Thomassin
Lyons
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Actor
Murder
assize court
Justice
Trial
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