Francis Heaulme

Case record: Francis Heaulme

Status

Francis Heaulme was sentenced to several life sentences in different trials, 1994-2004.

Background

Francis Heaulme was born on February 25, 1959 in Metz. He grew up in the Corbusier district in Briey. He had a sister, Christine, 6 years her junior, and they were very close.

Francis Heaulme’s mother was Nicole Houillon. Her family met Marcel Heaulme, Francis’s father, who was an industrial electrician. Marcel Heaulme was rejected by the Houillon family, which called him the “boche” because of her Germanic accent.

Marcel Heaulme thought only of money, women, alcohol, horse-races, and play. Nicole Heaulme was regularly beaten, as the rest of the family was, but especially Francis until he was 17 years old. Francis’s father referred to him as “Bastard”, “insane”, and “delayed” because of his silhouette and because Francis suffered from the syndrome of Klinefeter, described as a genetic anomaly that implied a sex of reduced size, a sexuality deadened near to impotence, and a tendency to femininity, which he would learn only into 1994.

Marcel Heaulme regularly locked Francis up in the cellar, suspended with a hook, with his wrists blocked by wire, because Francis did not bring back his father’s alcohol bottle. Francis’s schooling was described as a failure. Very young, he cut his arms, legs, and chest with pieces of broken bottle. His sister reported that he said: “Instead of making evil with somebody, I prefer to have evil with me...”. He buried alive animals.

At 20 years old, Nicole’s cancer was declared. On October 16, 1984, Nicole Heaulme died; Francis was described as being killed by sorrow because he adored his mother. The same day her death was reported, “small Grégory” disappeared, and Francis Heaulme was described as greedily collecting all the articles of press reporting the death of the little boy.

At the time of Nicole’s burial, Francis had to be torn off her coffin. He later said: “I lay down on his coffin in the hole. I wanted to leave with it... ”.

A little later, he tried several times to commit suicide. His family, especially his father, described it as “it makes her circus”. Marcel Heaulme found a new partner. Francis’s sister fled the family Heaulme, and she was described as going to Marie.

Francis Heaulme was described as sharing in hitchhiking through France, crossing more than 37 departments. He became alcoholic. He was described as a fabulator who went into gendarmeries for imaginary aggressions and crimes. Psychiatric internments followed one another, and doctors diagnosed him with “psychopathe”.

In 1991, in Alsace, he met Georgette, who was 5 years older than him, and lived with her. She succeeded in making him detoxify himself.

Other details

A police and gendarmerie investigation described that authorities had difficulty proving cases because acts were done without apparent reason or motive by a highly mobile person with alibis due to negligence. Police shortcomings and poor coordination were also described as contributing factors.

Chief Warrant Officer Gendarmerie Jean-François Abgrall was described as the specialist for cases in which Francis Heaulme was convicted, accused, or suspect. Abgrall arrested Heaulme on January 7, 1992 at Bischwiller in Alsace.

Behind the face of a madman, Jean-François Abgrall described a manipulative and calculating mind. He described that his morbid game involved releasing bits of information to police so that it was clear that he had “hit a snag”, a term used to describe murders. Abgrall described that this occurred in each new case and was evident throughout dialogs. Abgrall said: “He doesn’t lie. He never makes anything up. But he deliberately covers his tracks by mixing the crimes, dates and locations.”

According to one of Heaulme’s successive lawyers, Gonzalez de Pierre Gaspard, Heaulme was described as not to be confronted with authority, whether a policeman, a police officer, or a judge, because he felt they could make him say whatever they wanted.

Abgrall also described that Heaulme recounted murder scenes with precision, including an example described as showing officers how to kill a sentry by having a firm grip on the back of his head with one hand and stabbing him in the carotid artery with the other, drawing and then retracting.

Heaulme’s Klinefeter’s syndrome was described as meaning he was not capable of committing sexual assaults. It was also described that in at least two instances he was accompanied by other men, including one described as a distant cousin, who violated the victim themselves while Heaulme killed them.

Heaulme confessed the murders to medical personnel who did not reveal the information because false confession were often given to them in France, or because of medical confidentiality. In many police stations, he was described as recounting false assaults.

Jean-François Abgrall wrote “Inside the Mind of a Killer,” published by Profile Books Ltd, recounting step-by-step his investigation of Heaulme, described as the “Criminal Backpacker.”

In March 2005, the television channel TF1 introduced a television drama with Thierry Frémont in the role of Heaulme and Bernard Giraudeau in the role of policeman Abgrall. On November 13, 2005, TF1 aired a 90-minute documentary titled “The Bloody Road - On the Trail of Francis Heaulme,” produced by Doc en Stock and directed by Laurent Guerin and Franck Doors, retracing his route step by step.

A 70-minute BBC documentary in which Jean-François Abgrall recounted his investigation of Heaulme, titled “Dance with a Serial Killer,” was aired on BBC 1 on 24 February 2008.

The offence

Heaulme was suspected, accused, or convicted in more than 20 homicides, including the cases listed below.

Suspected murder: Lyonnelle Gineste (September 5, 1984)

On September 5, 1984, Lyonnelle Gineste, 17 years old and an apprentie pâtissière, was killed by Francis Heaulme and his accomplice Jose Molins. The body of Lyonnelle Gineste was found naked in the forest of Puvenelle. It was described as being strangled and having her throat cut.

Heaulme was described as being condemned on November 28, 1999 to 30 years of criminal reclusion, and Jose Molins was condemned to 10 years of criminal reclusion for complicity of murder, denounced by Francis Heaulme in 1996.

Suspected murder: Laurent Office (May 8, 1986)

On May 8, 1986, Laurent Office, 19 years old, was described as called quota in permission. He returned from the weekend spent in his parents. He went to the gymnasium of Bertrand de Born Perigueux, intending to attend a sporting competition that was cancelled.

It was described that he crossed 5 or 6 marginal drinking. During violent disputes, Francis Heaulme and Didier Gentil were present. Didier Gentil challenged Laurent Bureau for a history of debt, described as violent argument between them. It was described that after an argument, only one Laurent blow found the floor and Laurent received blows from the marginal ones.

Heaulme and Gentil took along Laurent force in the gymnasium, attached his hands in the back, compelled him to make fellatios while striking him, then violated him, strangled him, and “crash to pieces” his cranium with a blow of extinguisher.

Francis Heaulme was described as accused in December 1992, and Didier Gentil as accused on April 1, 1997, with Didier Gentil described as being discharged “fault of evidence”.

Suspected murder: Laurence Guillaume (May 7, 1991)

On May 7, 1991, Francis Heaulme met Michel Guillaume, 19 years old, and Laurence Guillaume, 14 years old, described as his cousin. After a rock festival, Heaulme and Michel followed Laurence, who was in an auto-cycle, with Michel’s car. They reversed it, put it in the car, and took Laurence along to the meadows of the small village of Rugy.

It was described that Michel Guillaume stripped Laurence with the intention to rape his cousin. It was also described that Francis Heaulme held Laurence with the neck with its opinel to hold it in respect. The following day, a little boy from Rugy discovered the body of Laurence Guillaume stripped.

Francis Heaulme was described as being condemned in September 1995 to criminal reclusion to perpetuity, together with 18 years of safety.

The text also listed other victims said to be regretted, including Georgette Manesse and Ghislaine Ponsard, Jean Rémy, Jean-Baptist Clement, Joris Viville, Aline Peres, Sylvie Rossi, and Annick Maurice, and it included the statement: “excuse me if it misses some, write to me to cure it.”

Arrest

Francis Heaulme was arrested on January 7, 1992 at Bischwiller.

Trial and sentencing

Assize Court of Var (May 1997)

In May 1997, for several murders, the Assize Court of Var sentenced Francis Heaulme to life in prison with no chance of parole for 22 years.

Additional sentencing (16 December 2004)

On 16 December 2004, Heaulme was sentenced to an additional thirty years in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years for three murders committed in the region of the Marne in 1988 and 1989.

Other sentencing and outcomes mentioned

The text described multiple convictions and outcomes in other cases:

• The murder of 8-year-old Jorris Viville in Port-Grimaud: it said there was no doubt Heaulme had an accomplice, and that the body had been moved more than 20 kilometres by car, which was described as something Heaulme was incapable of because of Klinefelter’s syndrom. When confronted with five possible suspects at trial, Heaulme successively indicated each as his accomplice before declaring he didn’t want to be a “scapegoat.” He alone was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
• The murder of 44-year-old Aline Peres in Brest: he was described as sentenced to 20 years in prison. The murder was described as occurring on a public beach in broad daylight, surrounded by people who saw nothing. The text also described that this put gendarme Abgrall on his trail, and that Abgrall was assigned to the Brigade de Recherche in Rennes, and arrested Heaulme four years later in Bischwiller.
• The murder of a retired legionnaire from Courtezon, in Vaucluse: it said Heaulme received a dismissal. Although Heaulme had confessed to Abgrall, his presence at the crime scene was never proven. His confession was described as fanciful in the light of findings made by the police on the crime scene.
• The murder of Laurence Guillaume, a 14-year-old girl, around Metz: Heaulme was described as sentenced to life in prison. The accomplice described was the cousin of the victim, whom Heaulme met less than an hour earlier at the fair in Metz. The accomplice was described as convicted of rape and complicity in the murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
• The murder of Laurent Bureau, a young military conscript: it said Heaulme was acquitted by the Assize Court of Dordogne. The text also described that during the murder, Heaulme was accompanied by Didier Gentil, who at the time of the trial was already sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a young girl named Celine in Motte-du-Cairo in 1989. The court was described as unable to determine which of the two murderers had actually killed Laurent Bureau, and acquitted them both.
• The Sept. 29, 1986 murder of two children, Cyril Beining and Alexander Beckrich, found dead along the railroad tracks in Montigny-lès-Metz: a man named Patrick Dils was described as convicted of the crime and served 15 years in prison before being exonerated in 2002.

Personality and mental health

The text stated that chief gendarmerie officer Jean-François Abgrall specialized in cases involving Heaulme. The narrative described that it was a complex series of track handling with Abgrall and accomplices.

The text also stated: “Is Francis Heaulme a mental patient? According to justice, not.” It added that it was said psychotic.

Timeline

• September 5, 1984 — Lyonnelle Gineste, 17, was killed by Francis Heaulme and Jose Molins; her body was found naked in the forest of Puvenelle.
• October 16, 1984 — Nicole Heaulme died; “small Grégory” disappeared; Francis Heaulme collected press articles reporting the little boy’s death.
• May 8, 1986 — Laurent Office, 19, was killed; violent disputes involved Francis Heaulme and Didier Gentil; hands were attached and he was sexually assaulted, strangled, and his cranium was described as being crushed by an extinguisher blow.
• Sept. 29, 1986 — Cyril Beining and Alexander Beckrich were found dead along railroad tracks in Montigny-lès-Metz.
• May 7, 1991 — Francis Heaulme met Michel Guillaume and Laurence Guillaume; they took Laurence to the meadows in Rugy; Laurence’s body was discovered the following day.
• January 7, 1992 — Francis Heaulme was arrested at Bischwiller.
• December 1992 — Francis Heaulme was described as accused in the case involving Laurent Office.
• November 28, 1999 — Heaulme was described as condemned to 30 years of criminal reclusion for the killing of Lyonnelle Gineste.
• May 1997 — The Assize Court of Var sentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole for 22 years for several murders.
• 16 December 2004 — Heaulme was sentenced to an additional thirty years in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years for three murders in the region of the Marne in 1988 and 1989.