THE body of a murdered estate agent, 23, has been exhumed by cops trying to prove she was killed by the “Monster of Avignon” rapist.
Police have long suspected Dominique Pelicot was involved in the unsolved murder of Sophie Narme, 23, who was attacked while showing a client around a Paris apartment in 1991.
Dominique was linked to the case after he was jailed for 20 years in December 2024 for drugging his wife Gisèle Pelicot, 73, and allowing over 50 men to rape her.
Authorities ordered the exhumation of Sophie’s body as part of an ongoing investigation into the disgraced Frenchman’s crimes.
Sophie’s body was discovered battered and partially undressed by one of her real estate bosses.
Horrifically, the belt of her skirt used to strangle her was still round her neck and her rings had been ripped of her fingers in the struggle.
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Earlier, she had met an unknown man for a flat viewing.
Sophie’s remains have now been sent for forensic and DNA analysis.
Dominique has always denied killing Sophie.
His defence barrister Béatrice Zavarro said on Thursday she was satisfied with the exhumation and was “eagerly awaiting the results of the analysis”.
Dominique appeared to be the model husband and father to three children he shared with wife Gisèle in a sleepy town in southern France – but he was hiding a disgusting secret for nine years.
He recruited at least 70 men from online chatrooms to rape his wife and filmed the assaults – even including their next-door neighbour.
Storing up a sick 20,000 images and videos on a folder labelled “Abuses”, the warped pervert finally met justice yesterday when he was convicted of aggravated rape.
Fifty co-defendants were convicted alongside Dominique and together they were given over 400 years worth of jail time – with Dominique likely to die behind bars.
A total of 47 men were found guilty of rape, most against Gisèle, while two were convicted of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
His disturbing treatment of his wife has also opened up new lines of enquiry to other cold cases across France.
Dominique’s DNA was linked to the attack and rape of another young female estate agent in 1999.
Estella B, then 18, was set upon by a man in Villeparisis, only a 25-minute drive from Noisy-le-Grand where Dominique lived at the time.
Estella, also known by the pseudonym Marion, thankfully survived the brutal encounter.
She says she was showing Dominique round a flat when he tried to knock her out with chemicals and rape her.
Dominique admitted to raping her, before retracting his statement saying he just forced her to show him her underwear.
He has since told investigators he had an “uncontrollable urge” to approach her but denied the rape.
His defence lawyer said: “With regard to Marion (Estella), he effectively denies any attempted rape, explaining that he was there, and that there was a scuffle.
“If a scuffle took place, he had no intention of raping this young woman.”
There are lots of similarities between the two cold-case attacks, which Dominique’s lawyer acknowledged.
In both cases, the victims were young real estate agents who were visited by a man under a false name to view a flat.
The two women were sedated with chemicals before they were attacked – which is how Dominique managed the serial rape of his wife for years.
The two women were also undressed in the same way, and a strong smell of ether – an anaesthetic – was noticed at the crime scenes.
Both attacks happened close to where Pelicot was living with his wife and three children at the time.
His DNA was put on a national database following his arrest over the crimes against his wife, which led to him being linked with both these unsolved crimes.
Domestic abuse – how to get help
DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone – including men – and does not always involve physical violence.
Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship:
- Emotional abuse – Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse – gaslighting – being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to
- Threats and intimidation – Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you
- Physical abuse – This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten.
- Sexual abuse – Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent.
If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers:
Remember, you are not alone.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime.
Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse.