Murder of Vanesa, 14, in Tonneins: Chevrel trial set for December 2026
Romain Chevrel will be tried from 14 to 18 December 2026 at the assizes of Lot-et-Garonne for the abduction, rape and murder of Vanesa, 14. A letter written by the victim during her ordeal was found in her schoolbag.
Chevrel trial at Agen assizes: a harrowing letter found in Vanesa's schoolbag
According to Google News FR — Crime (fr), Romain Chevrel, 35, will be tried from 14 to 18 December 2026 before the court of assizes of Lot-et-Garonne, in Agen, for the abduction, rape and murder of Vanesa, a 14-year-old secondary school pupil originally from Colombia, committed on 18 November 2022 in Tonneins, in Lot-et-Garonne. The accused has admitted the facts from the outset and faces life imprisonment.
Among the investigation evidence, a posthumous writing by Vanesa was discovered in her schoolbag, hidden in the boot of her alleged murderer's vehicle. Written in Spanish, this letter describes the rapes suffered and the adolescent's distress during the hours of her ordeal. Its discovery caused additional shock to the victim's family, already traumatised by the girl's disappearance and death.
18 November 2022 in Tonneins
That morning, Vanesa left her secondary school late in the morning to rejoin her mother, sister and brother at their home. Settled in Tonneins since 2021, the Colombian-origin family suspected nothing. On the way, a vehicle stopped alongside the adolescent. Romain Chevrel, a family man who had decided that day not to go to work, forced her into his Volkswagen Passat. He had never met the secondary school pupil before. To investigators, he spoke of an "impulse".
The day before, Chevrel had spent a long time viewing child sexual abuse material. He wanted, according to his own statements, to reproduce what he had seen. Throughout the day of 18 November, he took Vanesa to isolated places unknown to her. Unable to speak French, the adolescent remained paralysed with fear. He allegedly raped the secondary school pupil twice in his vehicle, before strangling her with the seatbelt, then with a cord.
A body abandoned in an isolated building
Arriving in Birac-sur-Trec, 13 kilometres from Tonneins, Chevrel spotted an old abandoned building after conducting searches on Google. Not knowing for certain whether Vanesa was still alive, he suspended her body using the cord from a beam inside the building, before fleeing. In the mid-evening, he returned to his home.
It was his partner who raised the alert indirectly: she noticed he had got rid of a pair of pink trainers belonging to Vanesa. Gendarmes quickly came to his door. On their arrival, Chevrel stated: "I know why you are here." CCTV images had captured his registration plate during the abduction, allowing his identification late in the day, after Vanesa's mother reported her disappearance. Confessions followed very quickly.
During the autopsy, pathologists discovered two letters carved on the victim's left forearm: "CF". Investigators recognised in them the first two letters of Chevrel's vehicle registration plate, which the adolescent had apparently noted in a final gesture to allow her identification.
A profile marked by serious criminal history
Romain Chevrel is described as addicted to cannabis and child sexual abuse material. Incarcerated and placed in solitary confinement since his arrest, he is defended by Maîtres Alexandre Martin and Emmanuelle Franck. Psychiatric experts emphasise profound childhood suffering and emotional deprivation, whilst ruling out any mental abnormality. They mention a "sociopathic dimension".
During his adolescence, Chevrel was shuffled between various foster homes. A departmental service in Charente-Maritime had drafted a note flagging a "problem concerning sexuality requiring close psychological follow-up". At 17, in 2008, the juvenile court in Rochefort had convicted him of sexual assault on a minor under 15.
Before the abduction of Vanesa, Chevrel had attempted to make contact with other secondary school pupils in Tonneins via social media. On 18 November 2022, he was in the vicinity of the school, according to investigators, deliberately, to "find a teenager".
Vanesa's family left Tonneins
After the tragedy, Vanesa's family left the town to settle in the south of Spain. "The pain was too great and the places became unbearable", indicates a source close to the case. The trial will open on 14 December 2026 before the court of assizes of Lot-et-Garonne, in Agen, for five days of hearing.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)