Patrick Tissier

Background

Patrick Tissier was born on 24 August 1952 in Bourges. He was one of six children. His parents violated each other and separated shares with the rest of the family. His mother left the household when he was 11 years old. He completed an apprenticeship as an electrician. His father later remarried a woman named Maria Luna.

At age 16, Patrick Tissier attempted to rape a woman twice in March and April 1969.

In 1971, Patrick Tissier killed and raped his girlfriend, who was 18 years old, in Bourges. In 1982, he raped a young woman in Toulouse.

In 1992, after being in prison for 20 years, he arrived in Perpignan at age 40. He lived near the station, and his neighbour was named Concetta Lena. He worked for a market gardener, then in a hotel, and later sold medicinal plants. He met Marie-Josée Gauze and had a relationship with her.

He attended a Mormon church where he met Jocelyne Milluy, who was divorced and a mother of two children: Cédric and Karine. Patrick Tissier came on 5 July 1993 for Karine’s eighth birthday.

The offence

On 6 August 1993, Pascale (the daughter of Concetta) called the police because she could not reach her mother. Concetta Lena and Concetta Lena’s car disappeared.

On the evening of 10 September 1993, Patrick Tissier went to reconnect with Marie-Josée Gauze. She refused to reconnect but agreed to remain so that he could sleep at her place. During the night, he attempted to strangle her, she lost consciousness, and he tied her up before leaving. She filed a complaint.

On 13 September 1993, Patrick Tissier went to pick up the child Karine at school. He raped and strangled Karine and then threw her into a well at an abandoned house.

Patrick Tissier was arrested for the murder of Karine and the assault on Maria-Josée on 21 September 1993.

Two years later, he confessed the murder of Concetta Lena.

In the narrative about the investigation, Karine was said to have been found dead based on information given to police by Patrick Tissier. The account described Karine as an 8-year-old child who was reportedly found dead after being thrown into a well, with the body dissimulated under rubble.

Investigation

On 13 September 1993, a judge of instruction named Danielle Braud decided to circulate by press the identity, the photograph, and the description of Patrick Tissier. She made a phone number available to witnesses and asked people close to the investigation to observe the greatest discretion.

The account described Patrick Tissier as being identified as the “témoin no 1” and described the police as placing emphasis on locating the child in his car.

The account also described Patrick Tissier as being in a blocked car due to a police barrier at the entrance to the village of Paulhan (Hérault). It stated that he did not oppose resistance to the gendarmes and that he quickly confessed to having raped and then strangled Karine. It said investigators used his directions to discover the body at the bottom of a well, hidden beneath a pile of rubble near an abandoned farm at Cabanes-de-Fitou (Aude), near the shores of an étang of Leucate, close to Perpignan.

Arrest

Patrick Tissier was arrested on 21 September 1993 for the murder of Karine and the assault on Maria-Josée.

A further narrative described the police intervention with an arrest at 18 h 30, when Patrick Tissier was in his car blocked by a police barrier at the entrance to Paulhan (Hérault).

Trial

During his trial, psychiatrists discussed his condition. Patrick Tissier and psychiatrists were described using quoted remarks, including: “ Il a aboli toutes les barriére…”, “Il est incapable de se mettre a la place des autres….” During the trial, Patrick Tissier said to one of them: “ Devant un être humain, je ne vois qu’un tas de chairs et d’os…”

Patrick Tissier also declared during his trial:

“ Jusqu’ici, je n’ai jamais demandé pardon à aucune personnes qui souffrent avec tout ce que j’ai fait, je ne le ferais pas aujourd’hui, j’ai peur que se soit perçu comme un affront... Mais je regrette tout le mal, toute cette souffrance, pour Karine, je suis le dernier des derniers. Parce qu’on doit pas faire de mal a un enfant, c’est sacré, je suis d’autant plus impardinnable que Karine était la merveille des merveilles, elle était gentil.”

The parents of Karine, Marcel Volkaert and Jocelyne Milluy, left the courtroom, described as being overwhelmed by pain.

Patrick Tissier was condemned by the court of assizes of Pyrénées-Orientales for the murder of the child Karine. He was sentenced to life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité) with a period of 30 years of safety (période de 30 ans de surété).

Sentencing

Patrick Tissier was sentenced to life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité) with an additional period of 30 years of safety (période de 30 ans de surété) for the murder of Karine.

The narrative described his earlier convictions:

• On 1 May 1971, in Bourges, he strangled an 18-year-old young hairdresser who had rejected him. He was sentenced to 20 years of prison, and the jury of assizes of Cher found mitigating circumstances. With a reduction of sentence, he was released about a decade later.
• In 1985, he allegedly reoffended, and the assizes of Haute-Garonne sentenced him to 10 years of prison for rape under threat of a weapon.

The narrative also described his 1971 sentence as 20 years’ imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend and the rape of the young woman from Toulouse.

Appeals

No information about appeals was included.

Outcome

Patrick Tissier was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Karine, with a period of 30 years of safety.

He confessed the murder of Concetta Lena two years after his trial.

The narrative stated that Karine was found dead based on the information provided by Patrick Tissier.

Aftermath

The account described Marcel Volkaert learning of his daughter’s death and receiving care from SAMU doctors, and then calling the press. It quoted Marcel Volkaert calling the killer “bête nuisible” and calling for “la vengeance”. It also included a quote about justice allowing people to be released from prison despite not deserving to live:

“ Je fais appel à tous les papas, à toutes les mamans, à toutes les personnes qui aiment les enfants, pour qu’ils m’aident à faire rétablir la peine de mort pour crime sur enfant ”

The narrative also stated that Marcel Volkaert denounced justice “ qui laisse sortir de prison des gens qui ne méritent pas de vivre ”.

A further narrative described the judge of instruction Danielle Braud making the identity and photograph public and providing a phone number for witnesses.

Other details

Karine was described as having a small brother in a photograph, and the account said the photograph dated 24 August showed Patrick Tissier surrounded by Karine and her small brother, with the man described as an invited friend of Karine’s mother.

The narrative stated that Karine called Patrick Tissier “Tonton.” It also said the relationship between Patrick Tissier and Jocelyne Milluy began when they met during an office at the Mormon community of Perpignan, and that Jocelyne Milluy was unaware of his past.

A young girl of 17 years, described as living with him for a few weeks in Perpignan, filed a complaint alleging that Patrick Tissier raped her and attempted to assassinate her on the night of 10 September.

Places named in the narrative included Bourges, Perpignan, Toulouse, Paulhan (Hérault), Cabanes-de-Fitou (Aude), and Leucate. People named included Benjamin’s family members as described, Marie-Josée Gauze, Jocelyne Milluy, Cédric and Karine, Pascale, Concetta Lena, Maria Luna, Marcel Volkaert, Danielle Braud, and the SAMU medical team.