Pierre Chanal
| Pierre Chanal | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 18, 1946 Saint-Etienne |
| Died |
October 15, 2003 , |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Killings | |
| Victims | Beetween 8 and 17 |
Span of killings | 1980–1988 |
| Country | France |
| State(s) | Champagne-Ardenne |
Date apprehended | August 9, 1988 |
Pierre Chanal (Saint-Étienne, Loire, 18 November 1946 – Reims, 15 October 2003) was a French soldier and suspected serial killer. He was convicted of the rape and kidnapping of a young Hungarian man (Balázs Falvay) whom he picked up hitch-hiking in 1988. He received a 10-year sentence for the attack, and was released in 1995 on probation. He was accused of murdering three of eight young men who disappeared in northeastern France between 1980 and 1987.[1] One of his alleged victims was Irishman Trevor O'Keeffe.[2] Chanal committed suicide in prison in 2003 while on trial.
Biography
Pierre Chanal was chief warrant officer and instructor at Camp Mourmelon the 4th regiment of Dragons in the Marne, from 1977 to 1986, when the case of the disappeared of Mourmelon. Discrete nature, he vowed full compliance with the Regulation, serving as very hard with the effort, he had impeccable service states, practicing every morning jogging 15 km, trained in combat melee and skydiving enthusiast . In addition, it was the military value medalist with silver star, won in Lebanon (under the French mandate of peacekeepers in Lebanon). Its deployment took place between 18 January 1985 and 15 May 1985. Again his behavior was described as exemplary by his superiors.
Beginning of the case Pierre Chanal
On August 9, 1988, gendarmes of Saône-et-Loire are intrigued to see a campervan Volkswagen Transporter II parked in a dead end road leading to a TGV line under construction, located on the town of Bussières. The gendarmes approaching, thinking that this vehicle belongs to opponents environmentalists TGV project, and fall to the vehicle owner, Pierre Chanal, who explains that he is an « NCO enjoying her permission to do some tourism ». The gendarme request identity papers of Pierre Chanal, realizes that he was assigned to the 4th Regiment of Dragoons in Mourmelon 1977-1986 and directly establishes the connection to the case of the disappeared of Mourmelon. Meanwhile, the other policeman stayed behind by going around the vehicle seen through the rear tailgate window the head of a man hindered and wrapped in a blanket. Detached from its relationship with the police, the victim of Pierre Chanal is a young Hungarian twenty years named Palázs Falvay explains why the Pierre Chanal had hitchhiked the night before the toll Chalon-sur-Saône .
He accuses the CWO to have kidnapped and raped. During the excavation of the Combi, the police found evidence to undermine Pierre Chanal, sexual objects and a camera including the scenes described by the hitchhiker.[3]
On 23 October 1990 the Assize Court Saône-et-Loire Pierre Chanal condemned to 10 years imprisonment. He was taken to the prison in Dijon, where he asked to be placed in solitary confinement. Throughout the trial and subsequently Pierre Chanal retreats into total silence. He was released June 16, 1995.
But since his first arrest, the police, intrigued by the military, are convinced of the involvement of Pierre Chanal in the case of the disappeared of Mourmelon. Everything seems they believe designate: its psychological profile of homosexual impotence, its violence and physical strength and his camper, but especially his years of employment to Mourmelon 4th Regiment of Dragoons.
Since January 1980, no fewer than eight people have disappeared in a triangle area of the Mourmelon region. Since 1980, the case that made headlines long, embarrassing the judiciary, military and investigators. It was long denied by the military authorities who imputed to desertions. Several military conscripts, have vanished into the starting permission, while they were doing hitchhiking. In 1990, no fewer than seven missing, called five between 1980 and 1982, a civilian traveling to Mourmelon camp in 1985 and finally a soldier assigned to the 4th called Dragon disappears also in 1987. At the disappearances may also be added two bodies found near the camp: that of Olivier Giving military called the 4th regiment of dragoons of Mourmelon, disappeared in 1982 and recovered 31 October of the same year, in a grove near Mailly-le-Camp, as well as the body of an Irish tourist, Trevor O'Keefe found 8 August 1987 near Alaincourt in Aisne, the body half buried in a grove.[4]
Death
He was found dead 15 October 2003, which puts an end to his trial. It is severed femoral artery with a razor.[5]
References
- ↑ "O'Keefe accused man is found dead". RTÉ News. 15 October 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ↑ Finian, Tim (Jul 14, 2002). "Mother wins legal battle to bring rapist to court over son's kidnap". Sunday Mirror. France: FindArticles. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ↑ Buried by indifference in Mourmelon Triangle
- ↑ Sadistic sergeant tries to escape serial killer trial
- ↑ Killer's suicide ends murder trial