France 2 is broadcasting the first two episodes of “Insoupçonnable” on Tuesday evening at 9:05 pm, the documentary series on the “Grêlé” case. A docu-fiction that looks back at the story of François Vérove, a French serial killer who was wanted for over 30 years. Patricia Tourancheau, a journalist specializing in crime stories and co-director of the series, talks to us about this case.
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On September 29, 2021, François Vérove was found dead in his house in Grau-du-Roi, near Montpellier. A letter, signed by his hand and addressed to his wife, confirmed the suicide of the former gendarme and father of two children. In it, he confessed to being the “Grêlé”, a serial killer, accused of four murders and six rapes, wanted for 35 years.
This case, considered the biggest cold case in theFrench legal history, is the subject of a four-episode docu-fiction series: Unsuspected. It retraces the Grêlé affair through the story of Daniel Zagury, a psychiatrist and expert witness in the courts. His career and work inspired his character, directed and produced by director Elie Wajeman and journalist Patricia Tourancheau. Author of a book entitled The Pockmarked: The Killer Was a Copshe returns, for franceinfo, to the construction of this series.
Why is this case a major one in French criminal history?
Patricia Tourancheau: There have been 35 years of tracking and investigation into this person who is both a murderer and a rapist of little girls, teenagers and adults. The “Grêlé” is one of the French serial killers who have been sought the longest.
Can you describe the profile of the “Grêlé”?
He was a killer who was extremely eclectic, who didn’t always have the same type of victims. One of his modus operandi was to approach teenage girls with a tricolor card and all the attributes of a police officer, pretending to be under police control to get himself taken to the homes of the young victims..
Why did you choose to make a docu-fiction like “Insoupçonnable”?
I think you have to watch this series because it’s not a horror film, it’s something thought out where there is the gaze of a psychiatrist on the journey of François Vérove. The series allows you to gain perspective, to analyze, to understand how a seemingly ordinary man can become this kind of serial killer..