justice examines the result of new investigations which “did not provide any major elements”

The additional information ordered in February has been completed. The Toulouse Court of Appeal will examine the results of these checks on Thursday morning as well as the referral to court of the husband, Cédric Jubillar, contested by his lawyers.

A new hearing in the case of Delphine Jubillar, who disappeared on the night of December 15 to 16, 2020, in the middle of a curfew linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, in Tarn. The Toulouse Court of Appeal examines, Thursday, June 20, the result of new investigations, ordered on February 8, franceinfo learned from the general prosecutor’s office. He requested additional information “to verify elements brought to his attention”. Among these “elements”, notably includes a telephone conversation which raised questions, between a woman and her son convicted of attempted murder and incarcerated in the past in the same penitentiary establishment as Cédric Jubillar, the husband of the missing nurse, indicted for the murder of his wife.

Investigators also verified the statements of a medium who claimed to have had visions of Delphine Jubillar. None of these avenues proved conclusive. “The additional information did not provide any major element in this meaningless procedure”, confirms to franceinfo Jean-Baptiste Alary, one of Cédric Jubillar’s lawyers. And to specify that Thursday’s hearing before the investigating chamber could be held behind closed doors. The decision will be deliberated and rendered at a later date.

Besides the additional information, the magistrates will also consider the appeal of the order of indictment (OMA). On November 21, 2023, after more than two years of investigations, the investigating judges decided to refer Cédric Jubillar to the Tarn Assize Court, so that he could be tried for murder. In this case without a body, no confession, no witness, no crime scene, investigators are convinced that this 37-year-old painter-plasterer killed his wife. The couple, who have two children, were divorcing. Since the disappearance of Delphine Jubillar, which he himself reported to the police, her husband has maintained his innocence and has therefore contested his referral to the court, through his counsel.

On numerous occasions, his three lawyers have also made requests for his release. They were all rejected. Cédric Jubillar has been in detention since his indictment on June 18, 2021. In theory, he could therefore have been released on Tuesday: the Code of Criminal Procedure sets the maximum period of pre-trial detention at three years, when the penalty incurred is greater than twenty years of criminal imprisonment. Which is the case for Cédric Jubillar who risks life imprisonment. But this deadline no longer applies since additional information was ordered by the Toulouse Court of Appeal. “The time limit for the provisional detention of Cédric Jubillar which applies today is a ‘reasonable time limit’, at the judges’ discretion”, specifies Jean-Baptiste Alary. His client can therefore remain in detention until a possible referral to the Albi assizes, if the courts confirm it. In this case, the trial of Cédric Jubillar could take place during the first half of 2025.