The gendarmes of the North have managed to identify a Frenchwoman found dead in the Netherlands in 2019 and to elucidate the circumstances of her death thanks to cooperation between French and Dutch investigators, the prosecution announced on Monday. This collaboration between investigators from the two countries thus made it possible to designate her husband, who died before this investigation, as the main suspect in this murder.
The case begins on June 22, 2019, when the body of a naked woman, killed by a bullet in the back of the head, is discovered in the region of Westdorp in the Netherlands, near the Belgian border, traces the press release from the Dunkirk public prosecutor’s office.
At the time, and despite multiple calls for witnesses and information sharing with neighboring countries, the victim might not be identified. A year later, gendarmes called upon during the natural death of a 70-year-old man in Hoymille (Nord), wondered regarding the absence of his wife. According to the family of the deceased, who has no contact with the latter, she left voluntarily following discovering her husband’s infidelity.
The investigators note that this woman, Jocelyne Hamilière, left no administrative trace at a new address, that her identity papers are still at the marital home and that her pension continued to be paid into the joint account.
A rifle is discovered, with missing ammunition, and the phone of the deceased shows suspicious trips to Belgium, still according to the prosecution.
In August 2021, the gendarmes launched a message via European cooperation platforms, which made it possible to make the link with this dead person discovered two years earlier in the Netherlands.
The exchange of information between French and Dutch investigators made it possible to determine that the bullet used in the murder was of the same caliber as the gun found in the couple’s home.
The DNA found on the rope binding the ankles of the victim corresponds to that of the husband, Michel Hamilière. The latter being deceased, the homicide cannot be judged.
Dunkirk prosecutor Sébastien Piève praised “the perseverance of the investigation services” and the “undeniable added value of international cooperation” to shed light on the fate of a victim who would otherwise have remained unknown.
