Overview

• Proceedings begin Monday before the cour d'assises de l'Aisne in Laon, with hearings scheduled through Wednesday.
• Prosecutors highlight a forensic match linking Pascal Lafolie’s DNA to the scrunchie the 17-year-old wore at the time of her death, identified after sealed evidence was retested.
• Investigators say Lafolie’s DNA profile entered the system following a 2021 domestic-violence case, leading to his arrest that year.
• Lafolie initially made incriminating remarks in custody before recanting; he now denies involvement, citing memory gaps and invoking his late brother, whose alleged role was ruled out by investigators.
• The 58-year-old, previously convicted in 1997 and 2002 for sexual violence, faces up to 30 years in prison, while the autopsy reported no sexual assault on the victim.