Cold-blooded murders or paranoid delirium? The Troadec affair under the watchful eye of “Sept à Huit”

Three weeks of hearing to try to explain the massacre of an entire family. Hubert Caouissin, 50, will be tried from this Tuesday, June 22, 2021 before the Nantes Assize Court for the quadruple homicide of his in-laws, a tragedy against a background of jealousy, resentment and inheritance. In view of the facts, a psychological cell has been planned to help the jurors, in case the debates are too difficult to bear. The murders of Pascal and Brigitte Troadec and their children, Charlotte, 18, and Sébastien, 20, took place on the night of February 16 to 17, 2017 in their pavilion in Orvault, near Nantes.

In the house where the tragedy took place, the investigators discovered a handwritten document in which Pascal Troadec wrote in particular: “My brother-in-law accuses us of theft”. He also affirms that Hubert Caouissin, who shares his life with his sister, threatened him by telling her: “For a golden story, we can kill a whole family”. The couple are convinced that Pascal has stolen part of the family inheritance, some gold coins. He was immediately heard by investigators and said he had not set foot in his in-laws for years. Except that his DNA was discovered in the house on March 5, 2017.

Quickly, Hubert Caouissin confesses. He admits having gone to Orvault on the evening of February 16 to spy on the family and try to find out where the family treasure is. He says he entered the house through the garage door. “I said to myself that I could try to take a key from the house, draw it on my notebook and make a duplicate afterwards”, he confides to investigators during his custody. But things wouldn’t have gone as he had planned.

The family was reportedly awakened by the noise and his brother-in-law threw himself at him with a crowbar. This was followed by a violent brawl between the two men, during which Hubert Caouissin then grabbed the doe’s foot, before mortally striking Pascal Troadec to defend himself, he said. Brigitte, Pascal’s wife, is said to have suffered the same fate, as did Sébastien and Charlotte, the children. The accused wanted to bring the Troadecs to justice and it was to find evidence that he went to Orvault on the evening of February 16, 2017, he told investigators.

The next day, Hubert Caouissin would have transported the bodies to his property, an isolated farm in Finistère, to make them disappear. He allegedly burned some of the corpses in his boiler and scattered the rest over the 30 hectares of land. Hundreds of human remains and family objects were found at the scene by the police. Hubert Caouissin is indicted for murder and imprisoned.

His companion, Lydie Troadec, is also indicted for “modification of the place of the crime” and “concealment of corpses”. She would have accompanied him to Orvault, then would have helped him clean and move Sébastien’s vehicle to Saint-Nazaire to cover their tracks. During the three years of investigation, Justice failed to demonstrate the premeditation of the crimes. But Pascal Troadec’s cousins ​​and aunts are convinced of this. To hear them, Hubert Caouissin knew very well what he was coming to Orvault for that evening. During the investigation, analyzes carried out in the house sowed confusion. They revealed significant traces of blood in the children’s beds.

Families also wonder about Lydie’s role. Did she only help her companion to clean the vehicle as she claims? The other unresolved mystery is the existence of this famous treasure. What is certain is that gold has indeed disappeared in Brest. In 1940, reserves of the Bank of France, evacuated in emergency before the arrival of the Germans, fell in the port, and were never found. Did the father really get his hands on some of this treasure? Investigators found neither bullion nor gold coins. And above all, there is nothing to show that the family has grown richer in recent years. No crazy expenses, no overseas accounts.

Even more surprisingly, Renée Troadec, the mother, claims to have never seen the treasure with her own eyes. Hubert Caouissin would he have invented everything? Was he himself convinced of it? Six psychiatric experts have made unanimous conclusions: “Our exams show a paranoid delirium”. Experts concluded that Hubert Caouissin’s judgment was altered at the time of the crimes. Hubert Caouissin faces life imprisonment. Lydie Traoadec risks five in prison.