Jubillar trial postponed to 2027 after admitting to murder of Delphine Aussaguel
The second trial of Cédric Jubillar, who confessed to strangling his wife in 2020, has been postponed to the first half of 2027 to allow for further investigations.
Jubillar trial postponed: confessions disrupt judicial schedule
The second trial of Cédric Jubillar, originally scheduled for September, will not take place before the first half of 2027. The president of the Haute-Garonne court of assize ordered this postponement on Tuesday following a meeting held at Toulouse's courthouse with all parties involved. According to france24.com, citing a statement from the Toulouse appeals court, the decision was made "in view of the time needed to carry out remaining investigative steps, the proper conduct of the inquiry and respect for the adversarial process".
Confessions after five and a half years of denial
The direct cause of this postponement is Cédric Jubillar's dramatic reversal. After five and a half years of denying responsibility, the 38-year-old painter-decorator recognised in a letter dated 6 July and then on 15 July to investigators that he had killed his wife Delphine Aussaguel.
According to the report of his statements, revealed by RTL, Le Parisien and Le Monde and of which the AFP also has knowledge, Jubillar described the events in these terms: "She said something to me that made me lose it, I snapped, I wanted her to be quiet, I grabbed her by the neck and I squeezed. I was telling her 'shut up, shut up, I'm begging you, shut up!'" He added: "She fell unconscious (...) It took me a few moments to realise that I had just killed the mother of my children."
A disappearance in 2020, a body found in 2026
Delphine Aussaguel, a 33-year-old nurse, disappeared during the night of 15 to 16 December 2020 in Cagnac-les-Mines, in the Tarn, near Albi. Her body had never been found despite extensive searches by the gendarmes. Following his confessions, Jubillar indicated to investigators that he had hidden the body on the edge of a field, about ten kilometres from their home. Excavations carried out at the site made it possible to discover remains whose analysis confirmed they were those of the missing woman.
Despite the absence of direct evidence and confessions in the first proceedings, Jubillar had been placed under investigation as early as June 2021, then sentenced in October 2025 to thirty years' hard labour. He appealed this sentence, which led to the present trial on appeal.
New expert assessments expected
The postponement was met with "consensus" at Tuesday's meeting, according to Malika Chmani, lawyer for the couple's children. Laurent de Caunes, lawyer for the siblings of the missing woman, specified that this delay would allow "investigations (and) psychological and personality assessments, given Cédric Jubillar's new position on the facts".
Danaé Jeanclos, lawyer for a friend of Delphine Aussaguel, stressed that "this additional delay will make it possible to carry out new investigative steps that had not been able to be implemented previously because we did not have Cédric Jubillar's confessions". Among the measures envisaged are a psychiatric and psychological assessment — requested by the defence — a possible reconstruction and further excavations. For the lawyer representing the children, these extra months are acceptable if they make it possible "to have justice of quality and to have answers to questions".
His lawyer Pierre Debuisson indicated that Jubillar is now aware of having committed "an abominable act".
Remand in custody capable of extension
The appeal trial should take place before 19 April 2027, according to several lawyers. Jubillar's remand in custody, which "expires on 20 October 2026, may be extended by six months, renewable once", clarifies the Toulouse appeals court. Held in isolation at Seysses prison near Toulouse, he was stripped of parental authority over his two children, aged 11 and 6, in December, now placed in the care of their maternal aunt by court order. He will be tried on the same charge as in the first instance: murder by a spouse.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)