Dominique Pelicotaccused of drugging his wife for almost a decade and inviting dozens of men to abuse her while she was unconscious, took the stand again this Wednesday to answer the lawyers’ latest questions. The interrogation, which was to conclude on Tuesday, was extended into the morning before the final arguments of the civil party. Mr. Pelicot, who has confessed to all the acts committed against his now ex-wife, has taken advantage of his statement to address some last words to Gisèle and his children. “I should never have done this, I’m going to die like a dog”, he stated.
At the request of his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, Pelicot has reiterated his apologies for all the pain caused, although he recognizes that “it will not be enough.” “My children prefer to take someone else’s last name.”, he recalled. Florian Pelicot, his youngest son, said he would feel “relieved” if he discovered that Dominique Pelicot is not his father. “I witnessed what they experienced after discovering this disaster. I didn’t imagine to what extent, I feel very sorry for them,” said the 71-year-old man.
Pelicot has assured that, if she could, she would like to “look directly” at her daughter, Caroline Darian, “in the eyes” and talk to her again. “I’ll never go see you, Dominique. You will die alone, like a dog”, she shouted, through tears, from the room.
The relationship with his only daughter is especially damaged, since It is suspected that he also abused her. Although Pelicot denies it, investigators found photos of Caroline in positions similar to those of her mother among Pelicot’s files. On Tuesday, Darian confronted him in the same room. “You don’t have the courage to tell the truth, not even about your ex-wife. You will die in lies. You are alone in the lie. “It’s a shame, you have no courage,” he shouted.
“I say it again: I never touched my children or my children’s children“, declared the accused. “We found (Caroline Darian’s photos) on her video camera,” Zavarro reminded his client during the interrogation. “A camera that I did not use for years,” the accused stated. For Dominique Pelicot, “the only hope” he has left is that his daughter “can have proof” that he did not drug her or rape her, as he did with her mother.
“I can’t add anything more, I can’t say anything more. She will never believe me. I will die like a dog. “I am not asking you to come and stand behind my coffin: there will be no coffin,” he said. Thus, Pelicot considers that the only person he has left is his lawyer, with whom he has developed a relationship of trust over the last four years.
Dominique has also addressed his ex-wife: “She is part of what I keep deep inside me,” he noted. Likewise, he wanted to dedicate a few words to the wife of Jean-Pierre M., the only accused who did not rape Gisèle Pelicot, but rather collaborated with Dominique to attack his own wife. “I ask that family to please accept my apology,” he said.
The argument of Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyers is scheduled for this Wednesday. The process will resume next Monday, with the Prosecutor’s request for penalties, which will last until Wednesday. It will be followed by the interventions of the defense lawyers before the court delivers the sentence, scheduled for December 20.
