Joachim de Araujo does not speak often. But while the justice is about to close the investigation on the death of Maëlys, his father asks that the facts be requalified. According to him, Nordahl L. premeditated his act and the Assize Court of Isere must judge him for “assassination” and not for “murder”, the charge for which he is being prosecuted at the present time. Thus, the ex-military would be exposed to the heaviest sentence in the Penal Code, that is to say, life imprisonment with a period of unlimited security.
The father of Maëlys, killed in the night of 26 to 27 August 2017 at a wedding in Pont-de-Beauvoisin (Isère), has the deep conviction that his daughter was forcibly taken by Nordahl L. “For me he had to get in his car, “says Joachim de Araujo, who thinks the thirty-year-old knew very well what would happen to the child. “He was aware that it was going to end badly. When he says that the death of Maëlys is just an accident, I do not believe it. You do not kidnap a child by accident at 2 or 3 in the morning, “he insists.
“I do not believe in his confession”
The parents of the victim are furthermore convinced that Nordahl L. abducted Maëlys to sexually assault her. They therefore believe that the suspect should also be prosecuted for this reason. However, it could not be formally established that the girl was raped. After several months in the wild, her body was too degraded to bring any evidence of rape. For her part, Nordahl L. has always denied having sexually assaulted the girl. Investigators have a hard time believing this version, especially since they discovered that the ex-soldier had touched two of his cousins, ages 4 and 6.
Recently, the testimony of a former co-detainee of the suspect had further reinforced this thesis. According to this man, the 30-year-old told him he had raped the girl and then beat her to death to prevent her from struggling. While waiting for the trial, Joachim de Araujo asks only one thing: to finally know the truth. “For now, I do not believe in his confession. I will fight to the end for Maëlys. I am waiting for the trial so that Nordahl L. is sentenced to his just sentence. And it is according to this sentence that I will be appeased, or not … “
A special reporting from Abantika Ghosh