He will face thirteen civil parties. The family, friends and loved ones of Iris, who will plunge back into the horror experienced by the 23-year-old young woman for a week, found dead on May 27, 2023 in the Blavet river, in Lanester, near Lorient. Christophe R., 53, is on trial from this Monday before the Morbihan Assize Court, in Vannes, for the kidnapping, sequestration, rape and murder of the young Iris Coëtmen. A case which gripped the entire region with fear a little over three years ago, with the starting point being the macabre discovery, by two walkers, of a lifeless and naked body floating on the surface of the water near a pontoon. And, very quickly, a name behind the victim: that of Iris Coëtmen.
The day before, the young woman from Guidel spent the evening with friends in bars in downtown Lorient. The drinks go by and a little after 3 a.m., Iris and her younger sister's boyfriend leave the last pub before wandering the streets drunk, then landing on a low wall right next to the sub-prefecture and the city police station. Wanting to satisfy a natural need, the young man leaves Iris alone before losing sight of her. With the terrible outcome that we know.
Three days later, the autopsy of the body revealed a violent death. The young woman died of major asphyxia syndrome, with strangulation followed by drowning while she was still alive when she was thrown into the water. It also appears that Iris was gagged and tied up before being raped. But by whom? It is ultimately the city's video surveillance cameras that allow investigators to identify a suspect.
In the images, we discover a man circling around Iris and her sister's boyfriend without them realizing it. The young man left to urinate, the individual grabbed the young woman who had fallen to the ground before carrying her to his white van parked not far away. The last images then show the vehicle driving at low speed with its lights off in front of the police station, before continuing its route towards the port.
Owner of the van, Christophe R. was arrested on June 8, 2023 at his home. And he is not unknown to the courts since he was sentenced in June 2015, by the same Morbihan criminal court, to nine years in prison for a sordid rape committed in the same area. This happened on the night of January 23 to 24, 2001. Lurking outside bars, he followed a young woman before violently attacking her, putting a cord around her neck before forcing her to perform oral sex on him. Released from prison in July 2018, he was, at the time of Iris's death, subject to socio-judicial monitoring which should end in July 2023.
Other incriminating elements allow it to be confused. Like his DNA found under the nails and on the genitals of the victim. Or the exploitation of the GPS of his vehicle, which reveals that the suspect wandered in his vehicle, on the night of May 26 to 27, 2023, outside the nightclubs of Lorient and in the university sector. “There is a predatory side to him which is frightening,” said Maître Morgan Loret, lawyer for the civil parties. While wandering around that night, but also on other evenings in places where there were young people, it is clear that he wanted to satisfy urges of a sexual nature. »
The search of his vehicle and the searches of his home confirm the strong suspicions surrounding him. Inside the van, investigators found Iris's hair as well as a Mexican mask, two kitchen knives, a roll of tape, a strap and tensioners as well as a pair of gloves. Described by his wife as a kleptomaniac, Christophe R. also keeps at home numerous women's underwear stolen during his nocturnal wanderings, as well as stocks of condoms and various sexual objects. “Everything incriminates him in this case but despite this, he only gave inaudible or unclear explanations during the investigation,” assures Maître Loret.
Since his indictment, the accused has in fact always denied the facts, providing very fluctuating versions during his hearings and interrogations. To investigators, he explained that he was robbed by four individuals while he was putting Iris in his vehicle to take her home. His captors then allegedly told him to drive and then took Iris to a forest, where he heard the young woman screaming. “We are preparing for it not to be collaborative,” indicates the lawyer for the civil parties. If he could explain to us what really happened that night, it would make the trial less painful for everyone. But I doubt it. »
Two weeks before the trial opened, a new twist punctuated this decidedly chilling criminal case. Interviewed by an investigating judge in Lorient, his fellow prisoner, a certain Jean-Patern Ars, former director of a Catholic school convicted of rape and sexual assault on a minor, would have indicated that his cell neighbor had confided in him.
