Voodoo rites, jealousy and feminicide: three people tried in Paris for murder

After disappearing in Paris, the body of a woman was discovered in Villiers-Adam in Val-d’Oise (© Illustration / TH / Val-d’Oise Gazette)

Domestic violence, voodoo beliefs and a deadly trio. It’s a sordid and strange story that judges and jurors will face of the Assize Court of Paris. Three people, two women and a man, appear this Tuesday, March 28, 2023 for facts of assassination.

A strange disappearance

It is March 25, 2019. Three women push the door of the police station in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. It is a mother and her two daughters. The third, Laetitia*, in her thirties, hasn’t given any sign of life for two days. An investigation is then opened.

The relatives of the missing person are questioned. Among them, Laetitia’s companionChristy D.. The latter, aged 42, explains to the investigators that his wife had alcohol and drug addiction problems and wasting the couple’s money. Christy D. also explained that after having given birth to twins with her companion, she encountered difficulties in adopting them.

Paranoia and voodoo

Contrary to this version, Laetitia’s relatives charge Christy D.. The latter would be jealous and possessive towards her. Christy D. allegedly hit her partner in the past and installed spyware on his phone. Under the influence of a mysterious friend, she would have sunk into a form of paranoia after learning of his girlfriend’s infidelity in 2018, suspecting her lover of having “bewitched” her with witchcraft.

Victim’s body found

A major twist in this obscure disappearance. On April 24, 2019, a body was found near a construction site in Villiers-Adam in the Val d’Oise. The identifications are formal. This is Laetitia. The circumstances of the victim’s death cannot be determined.

The investigations continue, and the noose will suddenly tighten on Christy D.. Her brother, who had initially delivered a version clearing the victim’s wife, will admit to having lied: the evening of the disappearance of Laetitia, Christy D. is at her apartment with two other people.

Conspiracy and black magic

This confession will then open the veil on a terrifying story. Paranoid, Christy D. sank into the crazy theory that his wife was bewitched by her lover. His friend, Iven W.advises him to make contact with a voodoo priestess in Haiti. The latter will try to practice a disenchantment by telephone, which will be “a failure”.

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The case then takes on the appearance of a conspiracy. A whatsapp group is created between Iven B., Christy D. and Sabrina M., a young woman who is the main suspect’s mistress and who is ready for anything “for love”. In the discussion, we talk about voodoo. Laetitia is nicknamed “Babylon” and is accused of practicing black magic.

A programmed disenchantment

A hypothesis reinforced by the Haitian priestess. The latter confides to Christy D. that Laetitia plans to “sell the soul” of their two children. Against several thousand euros, she then proposes a new disenchantment. The modalities of the rite are precise. On March 29, Laetitia must be taken to a quiet and dark place. His vision must be obstructed. Iven W. will recite prayers in Creole.

On the evening of the incident, the victim was taken to the parking lot of the residence in which she lived. The following varies according to the version of each of the defendants. A bag would have been put on the head of Laetitia. According to Iven W., Christy D. suffocated the victim with it. For her part, the victim’s wife speaks brutal blows from his friend which would have caused the death of Laetita. The trio then decide to hide the body in the Val d’Oiseand never to talk about it again.

Manipulated by the Priestess

To investigators, Christy D. explains to have been manipulated by the voodoo priestess. She says she was forced to make multiple transfers to Haiti. The other two defendants maintain their innocence. They face life imprisonment. The hearing is scheduled to last until April 7, 2023.

*Name has been changed

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Voodoo rites, jealousy and feminicide: three people tried in Paris for murder