September 29, 2021. The body of former gendarme François Vérove is discovered in Grau-du-Roi, in Gard, a few kilometers from his home in La Grande-Motte. He killed himself in an apartment rented on Airbnb. On the work surface is a letter in which he admits to having killed innocent people, following a “much rage” who has “makes him a criminal”. Murderous impulses which he said he managed to get rid of definitively in 1997. The following night, his DNA “matched” with that of “Grêlé”, a repeat killer and rapist, wanted for almost 35 years. Francois Vérove is the “Hailed”.
Uncovered on a public channel
Gendarme then police officer, and married since 1985, François Vérove was in everyone’s eyes, a good father and a loving husband, projecting an image that is the polar opposite of the atrocities he was able to commit.
READ ALSO : “Le Grêlé”: the name of the killer gendarme revealed following 35 years
As revealed by journalist Patricia Tourancheau, in her book Le Grêlé: The killer was a cop (edition of Le Seuil), as well as in the program “L’heure du crime” on RTL on February 26, his wife told investigators that she had never been aware of her husband’s dual personality, although he -he suffered from depression in 1994. According to her, he never gave the feeling of wanting to protect his identity. As proof, she claims that he even participated in the daily program “Everyone wants to take their place” then presented by Nagui on France 2, with his face uncovered.
“Everyone wants to take their place” – France 2 – Screenshot
Indeed, although the Grêlé has always escaped the cracks of investigation, its physical characteristics have been clearly established for decades.
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Three murders and one DNA
When he raped and killed little Cécile Bloch, 11, in the 19th arrondissement on May 5, 1986, he was seen in the elevator by the victim’s brother, Luc-Richard Bloch, as well as by several neighbors. Same scenario during the multiple attacks he committed between 1986 and 1994, notably that on Ingrid G., in Mitry-Mory, in Seine-et-Marne, an 11-year-old girl raped and kidnapped for several hours in an abandoned house in 1994.
READ ALSO : Grêlé affair: “He can be a good father, a good neighbor, while having killed, raped and assaulted”
His DNA also incriminates him in a double murder, that of a couple committed in the Marais district of Paris on April 28, 1987.
François Vérove’s ex-wife, however, was not able to specify the exact date of the game show in which her husband would have participated, placing it around 2020 or 2021*.
READ ALSO : Riddle of the pockmarked serial killer: “It is possible that things have escaped us”
We can see François Vérove alongside five other candidates. Presented as a former gendarme of the Republican Guard, he responds casually to Nagui’s questions, evoking his past as a former mounted gendarme. He even talks regarding his rounds in the ” Bois de Boulogne “. A disturbing detail when we know that he was fired in 1986 for a possible “morality affair” with prostitutes in this nocturnal meeting place.
“Everyone wants to take their place” – France 2 – Screenshot
As the years passed, his appearance had changed, his features thickening under graying hair. Who might have imagined, however, that this ghostly criminal might dare to show his face uncovered in the game show of a national and public channel? His beard appears slightly thicker than in the photos recorded at the same time. Simple coincidence, or slight precaution?
READ ALSO : In France, 300 “cold cases”, how many serial killers?
We can also note that he does not limp when he arrives on set. A serious motorcycle accident on June 24, 2011 left him with a damaged leg, forcing him to walk with a crutch, as evidenced by a photo dating back to 2014, during a neighborhood meeting taken in Prades- le-Lez, commune where he then served as municipal councilor.
DR
Eliminated in the first round, François Vérove did not last long on the show. Despite himself, Nagui will have realized the dream of several generations of Crime investigators, by questioning François Vérove during the traditional interview as a preamble to the questions asked to the candidates.
*This is actually a show that aired on May 13, 2019.