Trial of the murder of Véronique Duchesne: the criminal court relocated to a beach in Brittany

This is an unusual and rather rare device. On Thursday, a criminal court left its walls as part of a criminal trial. To try to shed light on the murder of Véronique Duchesne, perpetrated sixteen years ago in Brittany, the Côtes-d'Armor Assize Court went to the scene of the crime. For one day and under radiant sunshine, the trial was relocated to a beach on Comtesse Island, in Saint-Quay-Portrieux. To try to find out what the last witness had seen. Find out if it was her husband, Thierry Meunier, who killed this 47-year-old woman in 2010.

Aged 63, Thierry Meunier has been on trial since September 21 for the murder of Véronique Duchesne, whose lifeless body was found on October 9, 2010 in a cove located not far from this small island accessible on foot at low tide. At the time of the events, Thierry Meunier had mentioned the possibility of suicide by drowning. A thesis which did not stand up to the truths of the autopsy. Véronique Duchesne died of strangulation, confirming the hypothesis of murder.

The victim's family is convinced that her husband is the author of the crime, based in particular on the fluctuating agenda of the accused and the abnormally long time he took to report the disappearance. Based in Senegal since 2014, Thierry Meunier was arrested in November 2022 before being extradited in December 2023. Described as a liar and manipulator, the main suspect was riddled with debt.

A request from the defense

According to our colleagues from Ouest-France, the accused, who disputes the facts, was seen sitting on a rock on the island, wrapped in a bulletproof vest and attached to a strap held by four prison officers. In legal jargon, we say that the Assize Court has “moved.” » The magistrates, the witnesses, the accused, the jurors therefore headed towards this small island in order to realize “the distances, the configuration of the places”, a judicial source informed our colleagues. The request for this unusual trip was made by the victim's family.