THE GOMIS CASE: REAL TWINS, FALSE GUILTY PARTY | Enquêtes criminelles | W9

The story could be right out of a Hollywood script, yet it is real: twin brothers accused of the same crimes. Two suspects, identical in every aspect, whom the police will take more than ten months to separate. Something never seen before in a serial rape case in France.

On December 4 2012 it is a little after 7pm when Noemie, 32 years old, is raped in a park in a popular neighborhood of Marseille. Initially, investigators believe the attack is an isolated incident, but very soon men from the Vice Squad will make a link with two other attempted rapes in the city a few months previously. On each occasion the MO is the same: a hooded man comes up behind the victim and, under threat, takes her to an isolated spot, rapes her and flees with her bag and cell phone. And, most important, the same male DNA is found on each crime scene. Fear grips the city, especially when the hooded man becomes more prominent. In just four weeks, he creates four new victims. And yet, the police service has no profile of him and it’s impossible to find him. So who is this serial rapist who is terrorizing Marseille? At the beginning of February 2013, fortune finally smiles on the investigators: they succeed in identifying a suspect. His name is Elvin Gomis, a 24-year-old delivery driver. The subsequent inquiry does nothing to help the young man, because he fits the description given by the victims: young, mixed race, around 5’9”. And, the clinching evidence: his DNA is on the victims.

Everything points to Elvin Gomis as being the man behind the terrible series of rapes. However, the police will make a stunning discovery: Elvin has a twin brother, Yoan, an identical twin. Not only are the two young men as alike as peas in a pod, their genetic profile is identical. It’s impossible to separate them! For the investigators, a real puzzle is unfolding. Because, as well as proclaiming their innocence, the two brothers share everything: they live together, use the same car, same Facebook page. They swap their clothes and telephones… So which of the twins is the guilty one? Elvin? Yoan? Or both? An incredible detail will provide the answer…