French homicide suspect, the mother of four-year-old Gregory, whose bound body was found in the river Vologne on 10/16/1984. Later, the family received anonymous letters and phone calls about the crime, and she was accused on 7/05/1985 of killing her son. She attempted suicide after having another baby. Charges were not dismissed until years later, on 2/03/1993.
Bernard Laroche, Gregory’s uncle, was also a suspect. On 2/04/1985 the charges were dismissed and he was set free. Not convinced of his innocence, Christine’s husband, Jean-Marie Villemin, murdered Laroche at Autmonzey on 3/29/1985.
At the high-profile Villemin trial, it came out that the family was the target of a maleficent person making anonymous phone calls and letters. Judge Lambert, a real weathercock, ran the inquiry according to his mood swings. He charged Bernard Laroche, a cousin of the child’s father, with the crime and then released him a few weeks later. He took the case out of the hands of the local police and gave it to the police judiciaire (something like the FBI.)
Believing that his cousin was guilty of the murder of his son, Jean-Marie Villemin took justice in his hands and killed Bernard Laroche with a shotgun on 3/29/1985. On the same day he surrendered and was jailed. Judge Lambert’s investigation then turned to Christine Villemin whom he arrested for the voluntary manslaughter of her son. The lawyers got her release in ten days. On 3/17/1987, Judge Maurice Simon took over the inquiry and set another trial date.
On 2/03/1993, following the new investigation, the Court of appeals of Dijon exonerated Christine Villemin. On 11/03/1993, the trial of Jean-Marie Villemin opened in Dijon. After six weeks of painstaking procedure to correct the inconsistencies of the judicial system, Jean-Marie was sentenced to five years in jail with a one-year suspended sentence. Having already been detained for 33 months, he was released on 12/30/1993.
Link to Wikipedia biography (French)