Ex-girlfriends snitched on him Man sentenced to 30 years in prison after murder trial without a body
It was a case that moved the whole of France: despite the absence of a body, a court in Albi found a man guilty of murdering his wife. The sentence: 30 years in prison.
17.10.2025, 16:08
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- In France, a 38-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years in prison, even though the body of his missing wife was never found.
- The court considered it proven that he killed his wife and made the body disappear.
- Several ex-girlfriends testified that he had admitted to the crime.
- The man denied the allegations to the end, but evidence such as earlier threats and contradictory statements convinced the court of his guilt.
After a sensational trial for a murder without a body, a 38-year-old man in France has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. The court in Albi considered it proven that the man killed his wife and made her body disappear. The defendant maintained his innocence to the end.
"I didn't do anything to her", he said about the mother of his two children shortly before the verdict was announced.
Ex-girlfriends testify
The trial, which lasted four weeks, was widely reported in the French media. Two ex-girlfriends of the accused had testified that he had admitted to killing his wife. The man said that he had only spoken in jest.
The nurse, who had been missing since December 2020, had told her husband shortly beforehand that she wanted a divorce. She had already entered into a new relationship. The public prosecutor accused the accused of not being able to bear being left by his wife.
Defendant maintains his innocence
The defendant admitted in court that he smoked up to 15 joints a day and financed his cannabis consumption with odd jobs. He repeatedly protested his innocence during the trial, but often gave unclear or evasive answers. At the end of the trial, many questions remained unanswered.
The trial had caused quite a stir in France. Groups with several thousand members had formed in online networks to discuss possible solutions to the case. Investigators had ruled out the possibility that the woman had committed suicide.
Accused allegedly threatened to kill his wife
The then 33-year-old nurse disappeared one night in December. Her husband reported her missing to the police himself and explained that they were in amicable divorce proceedings. However, the investigation revealed that the couple's relationship was heavily strained. According to witnesses, the man had threatened to kill his wife several times.
However, no traces of a violent crime were found, only the young woman's broken glasses. The then six-year-old son testified that he had seen his parents arguing and getting violent shortly before his mother disappeared.
The accused has been in custody since 2021.
