David Hotyat

Case record

David Hotyat was convicted of murdering the five members of the Flactif family and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years on June 30, 2006.

Background

The Flactif family had disappeared from their chalet in Le Grand Bornand on April 11, 2003. Xavier Flactif’s partner was Graziella Ortolano, and they had three children: Gregory, Laetitia, and Sarah. Their cottage in The Grand Bornand was found empty, and it appeared to be ready-made meals were in the home, and the fridge was full of food.

Xavier Flactif was described as a property developer and as having succeeded in building luxury houses and achieving success through his work. Rumours included that he did not pay his bills and made poorly house building works. Investigators and media attention initially included the idea that the family had been on the run.

Neighbours who were interviewed by TV channels included David Hotyat and his partner Alexandra Lefebvre.

The offence

The family disappeared on April 11, 2003. When police later made findings in and around the chalet and in the Landcruiser, evidence supported a murder theory.

David Hotyat was accused of slaughtering the family at their Alpine chalet and then burning their bodies on a massive pyre in a local forest.

Investigation

Blood traces and fragments of baby tooth were found in the cottage where David Hotyat and Alexandra Lefebvre lived. Investigators found blood stains and minuscule fragments of the children’s teeth in the chalet, and later traces of blood in the Landcruiser.

DNA analysis showed that blood was from five members of the Flactif family and a sixth person, said to be David Hotyat.

In the chalet, the family’s bedding was gone, and a square of staircase carpet had been neatly cut out. The chalet had been meticulously cleaned, but small brown flecks remained, particularly between the floorboards. A spent 6.35mm cartridge was found in the chalet.

The family’s red Toyota Landcruiser was found abandoned near Geneva airport just over a month later. A mass of legal documents and plans and two laptop computers had disappeared from the chalet.

As police divers, potholers, and sniffer dogs searched for the missing bodies throughout the summer, police continued taking DNA samples from other members of the Flactif family, from business associates, clients, workmen, and finally from neighbours. After more than 130 tests, the laboratory analysing the samples said one matched what became known in the French press as “the famous sixth trace”.

Arrest

Four people were arrested in an operation involving 80 gendarmes.

Confronted with evidence, David Hotyat confessed to the killings. David Hotyat led police to a remote spot in the forest where the remains of five badly burned bodies were recovered. His wife Alexandra was remanded in custody, together with a man who worked in the same garage in nearby Annecy-le-Vieux as David Hotyat, and his wife. The three were suspected of helping to clean up after the murders and disposing of the bodies, and they might eventually be charged as accomplices.

David Hotyat described his motive to investigators in terms of a violent altercation with Xavier Flactif, whom he said he was on bad terms with over payment for odd jobs and a few hours of cleaning that his wife had done in the chalet. The sum involved was described as a few hundred euros. Investigators still considered the possibility that further links between the suspect and his principal victim could be uncovered.

It was said that David Hotyat had no criminal record and was described by his family as quiet and hard-working.

Trial

A murder trial was expected to be brought to court in 2006, some three years after the events.

On the 13th of December, 2004 at Annecy, David Hotyat was coming to trial for the matter of Hotyat burning down one of M. Flactif’s chalets. Hotyat and Stéphane Haremza were expected to plead guilty.

On June 12, 2006, the trial was due to start and last three weeks.

David Hotyat won an injunction against the Rap group Sinik regarding a line in one of their songs that included “David Hotyat - child killer”. The French High Court upheld Hotyat’s presumption of innocence.

At trial, David Hotyat had already admitted killing the Flactif family, though it was not clear how he would plead at trial.

On July 3, 2006, David Hotyat was found guilty of murdering the five members of the Flactif family.

Alexandra Lefèvre (Hotyat’s ex-girlfriend) was sentenced to 10 years for her part in the murder. She denied any connection with the crimes, and it was said an interview with French television made shortly after the Flactifs disappeared showed her hatred for the family. The jury was not convinced by her story.

His accomplices Stéphane and Isabelle Haremza and his brother Mickaël Hotyat received various jail terms.

Sentencing

David Hotyat was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years on June 30, 2006.

Alexandra Lefèvre was sentenced to 10 years.

Appeals

No appeal outcome was stated for the conviction. The only court action described was the French High Court upholding Hotyat’s presumption of innocence in the injunction case against the Rap group Sinik.

Outcome

David Hotyat was convicted of murdering the five members of the Flactif family and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years.

Other details

Xavier Flactif, 41, was described as an aggressive, successful but allegedly unscrupulous real estate magnate who had made many enemies since his arrival in the region in 1999.

Graziella Ortolano was described as 36. Their children were described as Gregory (seven), Laetitia (10), and Sarah (11).

The French news also described Xavier Flactif as having arrived in the region and making enemies, and it included reporting that he had been flashed and had ripped people off, while local residents said they did not think anyone seriously thought he might have been killed, and certainly not his kids.

A villager said: “Everyone thought he had just run off,” and added: “He didn't have many friends here, and that's an understatement. He ripped a few people off and he was flashy with his money. “But I don't think anyone seriously thought he might have been killed, and certainly not his kids. They were guilty of nothing.”

An official at the public prosecutor's office in Annecy said: “He's admitted that he did it, and we have the DNA samples to prove it,” and: “The motive for such a massacre seems scarcely believable, but he is certainly the chief suspect.”

A gendarmerie spokesman said: “The suspect said he had a violent altercation with Flactif, with whom he was apparently on very bad terms, that evening over payment for a couple of odd jobs that he had done for him and a few hours of cleaning that his wife did in the chalet,” and: “The sum involved is derisory, a few hundred euros.”

The gendarmerie spokesman also said: “But he added that there was still a possibility that the investigators might uncover further links between the suspect and his principal victim, both of whom came originally from the north of France.”

The gendarmerie spokesman said: “In a way I hope there's more to it,” and: “Five lives for a row between neighbours is difficult to stomach.”

Timeline

• April 11, 2003 — The Flactif family disappeared from their chalet in Le Grand Bornand.
• 1999 — Xavier Flactif arrived in the region and made many enemies since his arrival.
• June 12, 2006 — The trial was due to start.
• June 30, 2006 — David Hotyat was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years.
• July 3, 2006 — David Hotyat was found guilty of murdering the five members of the Flactif family, and Alexandra Lefèvre was sentenced to 10 years.