THE ROUXEL CASE: INHERITANCE MAYHEM? | Enquêtes criminelles | W9

We’re in Bastide-Clairence in the Basque hinterland. It’s 1pm on February 20 2016 when farmer, Bernard, gets a phone call from his neighbours’ elder son. Yann Rouxel is in a panic because, according to him, a terrible tragedy has just played out in the family home. When Bernard arrives he finds the son prostrate on a chair in the yard in a state of shock.

Inside, on the tiled kitchen floor, lies the body of the father, Pascal. In the neighbouring room, the wife, Ewa, is sprawled on the floor, her arms outspread. She too is dead. It’s a real massacre. Ewa, a housewife of Polish origin was killed by a bullet to the chest. Pascal, an insurance investigator took three bullets, one which was to his head at point-blank range. What happened in this converted barn well away from prying eyes? At the same time, Kevin Rouxel, the youngest son and his wife are reporting to the gendarme station. That day, they were all supposed to be celebrating Kevin’s birthday together. Only, just as they were about to sit down to eat, Kevin explains that his brother Yann shot down both his parents. Although wounded, Kevin tried to overpower the madman, but claims Yann shot at him, forcing him to flee with his companion… Alone on the scene, Yann Rouxel, 27, therefore seems the ideal suspect. However, the elder brother, who is autistic, tells a totally different story: in fact, it was his brother Kevin who shot his parents before fleeing. Two diametrically opposed versions! So, which of the two brothers is the killer? And what would be the motive for this double murder? Both are placed in detention and accused of murder. For months, mystery shrouds this highly private crime, but it’s Kevin and his wife in particular who attract the investigators’ curiosity: bizarrely, the murder weapon belongs to the younger brother… Also, envious of the attention his family lavished on his handicapped brother, Kevin had a very conflictual relationship with his parents. A situation explosive to the point where the Rouxel couple had even decided to disinherit him…