Category: Location: France

Thierry Kerdraon

No PhotoName: Thierry Kerdraon.
Died: July 20, 2024.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Head injury; bludgeoned.
Location: Brest, France.
Disability: Unspecified; under guardianship.

Details:
Police were called to Thierry’s home by his drunk and confused partner. They found Thierry dead, with injuries all over his body and fatal blows to the face and skull. Authorities arrested his partner and another highly intoxicated man who had been spending the evening at their home and still had blood on his clothes.

Case Status:
Two people, one of whom was his partner, were arrested; both were charged with murder of a vulnerable person.

Sources:
Brest : un homme handicapé tué, deux personnes mises en examen, dont sa conjointe
Meurtre d’un homme handicapé à Brest : deux personnes mises en examen
Meurtre à Brest. Un homme tué dans son appartement. Des tirs dans le quartier de Lambézellec
Meurtre dans le quartier de Bellevue : Deux proches de la victime mis en examen

57-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: June 5, 2024.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Nommay, Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This woman’s mother found her lying on the ground, unresponsive, head covered with a plastic bag and a ligature. Her husband was trying to hang himself nearby; she reacted quickly, cut the rope, and called emergency services. Authorities say that when they questioned the father, he admitted to having already tried to strangle his daughter two days before because he thought that she was too much of a burden for him and his wife.

Case Status:
Her father, age 87, was charged with murder.

Sources:
Doubs : un homme de 87 ans mis en examen pour l’assassinat de sa fille autiste
France: Inculpé à 87 ans pour l’«assassinat» de sa fille autiste
Doubs : un homme de 87 ans mis en examen pour l’« assassinat » de sa fille autiste
Autism Memorial: 57-year-old woman

28-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: January 15, 2024.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Saint-Herblain, Nantes, Upper Brittany, France.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
This 28-year-old woman, who had just lost her mother, was killed by her father in a murder-suicide. He left a note stating that he killed her because he did not want her siblings to have to care for her.

Case Status:
Her father, deceased.

Sources:
Un père tue sa fille handicapée de 28 ans puis se suicide près de Nantes
Un homme tourmenté étrangle sa fille handicapée avant de se suicider à Saint-Herblain

Henri Diarnac

No PhotoName: Henri Diarnac.
Died: November 24, 2023.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Albaret-Sainte-Marie, Lozère, France.
Disability: Unspecified; brain-related (“psychologically fragile”).

Details:
Henri’s body was found with a piece of paper with his half-sister’s phone number on it. Since his half-sister couldn’t be found, they questioned his half-brother, who initially claimed he didn’t even know Henri. But investigators established that their car had been present in the small town where Henri lived on the day of his murder, and had been washed afterward. Henri’s half-brother was arrested; when his sister returned from abroad, she was also arrested.

Case Status:
His half-sister is charged with voluntary manslaughter.
His half-brother is charged with murder.

Sources:
Habitant de Béziers handicapé retrouvé mort en Lozère : une ex-avocate parisienne mise en examen pour le meurtre de son demi-frère
Une ex-avocate parisienne mise en examen pour un meurtre en Lozère – France Bleu
En souvenir de Monsieur Henri DIARNAC

11-year-old boy

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: October 29, 2022.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Stab wounds, head injury.
Location: Marseille, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This 11-year-old boy’s mother told police she had lost sight of him and he had gotten lost; but the next day, his body was found on the banks of a river; he had been murdered. Police, who suspected his mother of killing him, arrested her and soon reported that she had admitted to killing her son because she “couldn’t deal with him anymore”.

Case Status:
His mother, age 39 (Arrested).

Sources:
11-year-old boy
Mum ‘admits killing’ autistic son, 11, after dad found his body on riverbank
12-year-old autistic child found dead in Marseille: mother admits killing him
Enfant autiste de 11 ans tué à Marseille : la mère mise en examen pour “meurtre sur mineur”
Enfant autiste tué à Marseille: la mère mise en examen pour meurtre
Infanticide à Marseille : la mère du garçon de 11 ans mise en examen

78-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: March 2021.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Saint-Joseph, Reunion, France.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
This woman’s husband bludgeoned her to death with a sledgehammer, then killed her caregiver as well. In court, the perpetrator, who had a history of violent behavior, claimed it had been a “compassionate killing.”

Case Status:
Her husband was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years.

Sources:
Man, 88, jailed for killing wife who lived with Alzheimer’s
Husband jailed for ‘compassionate killing’ of wife with sledgehammer

Gwenn Michelin

No PhotoName: Gwenn Michelin.
Died: June 8, 2018.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Head injury, drowning.
Location: Vivoin, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Gwenn, his mother, her partner, and his little brother were camping when his mother’s partner got drunk and got angry at him. Gwenn was badly beaten and thrown into the water even though his assailant knew he couldn’t swim. His family, terrified because of Gwenn’s stepfather’s history of violence and domestic abuse, didn’t feel free to come forward and tell the authorities what had happened to Gwenn until after the killer had been arrested.

Case Status:
Rémy Pichot (Mother’s partner), convicted of murder of a vulnerable person, sentenced to 30 years.

Sources:
Sarthe – Meurtre d’un jeune autiste à Vivoin : le beau-père condamné à 30 ans de réclusion criminelle – France Bleu
Un Sarthois jugé aux assises pour le meurtre de son beau-fils, un autiste de 22 ans, en 2018 – France Bleu
Il déboule au camping et tue son beau-fils infirme
Procès du meurtre de Vivoin : placé face à ses contradictions, l’accusé se mure dans le silence – France Bleu
Sarthe. Mis en examen pour avoir tué son beau-fils autiste
Sarthe. Mis en examen pour avoir tué son beau-fils autiste
Exclusif. Vivoin : mis en examen pour le meurtre de son beau-fils autiste
Sarthe. Trente ans de réclusion criminelle pour le meurtre d’un jeune autiste

Frédéric Leclerc

No PhotoName: Frédéric Leclerc.
Died: September 21, 2016.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Landres, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Frédéric’s mother tried to poison him with medication, but when he threw it up, she stabbed him to death. She also killed his dog.

Case Status:
Séverine Michelin (Mother), sentenced to 16 years.

Sources:
Nancy : une mère condamnée à 16 ans de prison pour avoir tué son fils autiste
justice. Ado autiste tué à Landres : la mère en prison

40-year-old man

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: April 22, 2013.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Drugged and asphyxiated.
Location: Poissy, France.
Disability: Autism, hypoxic brain injury.

Details:
This 40-year-old man was found dead, drugged and smothered with a plastic bag over his head. His father was found unconscious but alive in a similar state.

Case Status:
His father was charged with murder.

Sources:
Poissy : désespéré, il tue son fils autiste
Autisme : les entendre vivants, ou les comprendre… morts ?

7-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy

No PhotoAge at death: 7.

Age at death: 6.

Names Unknown.
Died: November 12, 2011.
Cause of death: Murder-suicide.
Location: Martiguez, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
These two siblings were killed by their mother in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Their mother, deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: 6-year-old male, 7-year-old Female, Name Unknown