Pierre Bodein

Case record: Pierre Bodein

Background

Pierre Bodein was nicknamed “Pierrot le fou,” or “Crazy Pierre.” He was 59 at the time of trial. He denied wrongdoing and claimed to be the victim of a plot.

Bodein had spent more than 30 years in jail and psychiatric institutions since 1969. He had a history of psychiatric problems, including bouts of schizophrenia in the 1970s. He once escaped from a hospital and went on a crime spree that included violent attacks against a girl and an elderly woman. He had been conditionally released from prison three months before the June 2004 murders, after serving more than a decade of what originally was a 28-year sentence for various crimes. That sentence was later reduced to 20 years even though doctors warned against early release. He received parole in March 2004, despite warnings from doctors.

The offence

Bodein was charged with raping, killing and mutilating two young victims, Jeanne-Marie Kegelin and Julie Scharsch. He also allegedly murdered and mutilated Edwige Vallee, and attempted to kidnap two other girls.

All incidents occurred in June 2004 in various locations in Alsace, near France’s border with Germany. One body was found floating in a creek, and another in a vineyard.

In June 2004, little Jeanne-Marie Kegelin disappeared from Rhinau (Bas-Rhin). After an intensive search, her body was found on June 29, naked and partially submerged in the Valff River. The corpse showed significant mutilations in the lower abdomen and genital organs. Doctors also pointed out the absence of internal genital organs, which made it impossible to determine rape. The wounds were believed by experts to have been inflicted when she was still alive.

On June 22, the partially nude body of Edwige Vallé, 38, was discovered in a river in Hindisheim (Bas-Rhin). The same wounds had been inflicted.

The macabre series ended on July 3 with the discovery of the totally nude body of Julie Scharsch, 14, in a stream in Nothalten (Bas-Rhin). The doctors indicated that the wounds were inflicted after her death and that she most likely died from drowning.

Police pointed fingers at Bodein after finding blood from one of the victims in his car and his blood on the victim’s bicycle. The investigation linked him to the crimes through his mobile phone and through witness statements.

Bodein was also described as the main suspect in two other murders in addition to the case in which he was being tried.

Investigation

On June 18, 2004, Jeanne-Marie Kegelin disappeared from Rhinau (Bas-Rhin). After an intensive search, her body was found on June 29 in the Valff River.

Police in eastern France arrested Pierre Bodein, described as a repeat offender, in connection with the disappearance of the teenage girl. Police arrested him late Wednesday in the Alsace region near the border with Germany under suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Julie Scharsch, 14.

Julie went missing on June 25 from the village of Schirmeck, located outside Strasbourg. Police found the girl's bicycle late Monday in an isolated forest, and said the case was being investigated as a possible kidnapping. A witness last saw Julie speaking to the driver of a vehicle whose description matched Bodein’s Ford Escort.

Sources close to the inquiry said Bodein was in contact with six people under investigation in connection with Jeanne-Marie’s disappearance and death. Investigators described Bodein as a “distant cousin” of the family detained in the Jeanne-Marie case.

Brothers Georges Remetter and Balthazar Remetter, aged 34 and 16 respectively, were placed under investigation in that matter for kidnapping followed by death. Investigators believed that Georges hit Jeanne-Marie with his car, took her back to the family home before abandoning her in “as yet undetermined circumstances.” An autopsy did not allow investigators to rule out or to confirm that Jeanne-Marie had been sexually assaulted, and additional tests were to be conducted.

Police of Alsace confirmed that Julie Scharsch’s corpse was found about 20 km from the town Schirmek, where the girl was last seen on June 25. The family’s attorney identified the girl.

A narrative described Julie as potentially being the third victim of Pierre Bodein while he was out on parole and re-arrested three days earlier under suspicion of kidnapping and murder.

Arrest

Pierre Bodein was arrested in the Alsace region near France’s border with Germany under suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of 14-year-old Julie Scharsch.

Trial

Eighteen other members of the Yenish community joined Bodein in court as co-defendants. They were described as a group of travelers settled in caravans in eastern France and accused of various degrees of complicity in the crimes. All the accused denied any wrongdoing in a trial lasting three months.

The prosecutors Manon Brignole and Olivier Bailly demanded jail terms ranging from 3 to 30 years. The prosecution demanded life imprisonment for Bodein.

The judges acquitted 16 other members of the Yenish community who had been accused of various degrees of complicity in the crimes. Bodein was convicted and sentenced.

The defense lawyer Marc Vialle said before the verdict that Bodein would appeal if convicted.

During the trial, Bodein stared blankly as he was led from the courtroom after sentencing.

Sentencing

Bodein was sentenced to life in prison (minimum 30 years) on October 2, 2008. He would have to spend at least 30 years in jail before becoming eligible for parole.

At sentencing, Francoise Scharsch, the mother of one victim, said:

“It's ... the maximum possible sentence, so in that sense there's a sense of satisfaction. But it won't give us Julie back. It won't soothe our pain and make up for the loss our family feels,”

Appeals

The defense lawyer Marc Vialle said before the verdict that Bodein would appeal if he was convicted.

Outcome

Bodein was convicted of murdering and mutilating the victims in the series of macabre slayings connected to events in June 2004 in Alsace.

Other details

Police found blood from one of the victims in Bodein’s car and his blood on Julie’s bicycle. Investigators located Bodein in the area through his mobile phone and received witness statements linking him to the crimes.

The prosecution described Bodein as having spent more than 30 years in jail and psychiatric institutions since 1969 and as having savagely murdered and mutilated Jeanne-Marie Kegelin, 11, Julie Scharsch, 14, and Edwige Vallee, 38, and attempted to kidnap two more girls in June 2004.