LAURE ZACCHELLO | Enquêtes criminelles | W9

Laure Zacchello, mother of three children aged 5, 7 and 9, has not been heard from since June 21.

Her husband, Alexis Juret, has been remanded in custody on suspicion of spousal murder. On the day of his wife’s disappearance, he had been found unconscious and bloodied, with a cinder block next to his head in the garden of the family home in Urrugne in the Basque country. However, investigators suspect that the crime was staged to cover it up.

The man, who denies any involvement and swears he suffers from amnesia, has a disturbing profile to say the least. A survivalist, he is said to have several caches in the mountains and a veritable arsenal of weapons in his home. Two cupboards full of firearms, some of them machine pistols and automatics, have disappeared.

The couple had been divorcing for several months. Laure had told those close to her that she could no longer stand her husband’s outbursts of anger and jealousy. Alexis, for his part, would not accept the break-up. So much so that he would have made life hell for his wife, who lived in fear. She would, for example, put a chair behind the door or sleep on the sofa surrounded by objects to make sure she could hear her husband coming.

Investigators fear a family tragedy, but the search for the 43-year-old mother has so far turned up nothing. So the Zacchellos are appealing to anyone who might have information.

So what really happened to Laure Zacchello? Is her husband responsible for her disappearance? And will he ever regain his memory?