The fight of Franciel’s father, killed by her companion, to repatriate the body of his daughter to Brazil

It is the first time in his life that he has come to France. It is even the first time that he has left Brazil. With his retirement as a salesman, Jurandir, 72, does not really have the means to afford a vacation in Paris. For a few days and for another three weeks, he has been staying with his son Tiago in a studio in the Marais district. Housing loaned by the Association Femmes de la Résistance, whose head is Brazilian.

This collective managed to raise 8,000 euros to help the old man to repatriate the body of his daughter. He also cherishes the hope of returning to the country with his two grandchildren. Noah, 5 years old and Liam, 3 years old have been placed in a home since last September and the murder of their mother Franciel in Champigny (Val-de-Marne). The 29-year-old woman was killed by stabbing several times by her companion Rodriguo. The one who is also the youngest’s father has been remanded in custody while the investigation continues.

Jurandir knows him very well. The 27-year-old lived in the same town as him, near Maringa, not far from the Paraguayan border. “In Brazil, they were the perfect couple,” he recalls. But that was before arriving in France, a little less than two years ago.

“Every ten minutes she had to say where she was”

“I was in contact with my daughter all the time, like the morning of the murder. After six months, she confided her suffering to me. She was going through hell with and with her mother-in-law. He had become sickly jealous. Every ten minutes she had to say where she was and with whom. She even had to take a picture of herself to prove what she was saying. »Franciel’s father and brother also evoke violence. “He tried to break her arm,” they say.

Rodriguo’s lawyer, however, put forward the clean criminal record of his client. Before the tragedy, “he had never raised his hand on a woman,” he said during the young man’s custody. And to underline the absence of complaint or of handrail on behalf of Franciel with whom he lived for nearly five years. According to the lawyer for the indicted, the murder, which has not been denied, had taken place in a context of “suspicion of infidelity”.

“As long as the autopsy report is not made, it is complicated”

If the mother of the family has never alerted the authorities, it is according to her relatives, because she was in an irregular situation in France, with a simple Brazilian passport. “She was afraid of being sent back to the country”, assures the father. This is what will in all cases be the subject of a debate at the meeting.

In the meantime, the priority for Jurandir and Tiago is to be able to repatriate Franciel’s body. “He must be buried in France taking into account the necessities of the investigation”, wrote the magistrate. But Caroline Toby, the family lawyer, is confident. “As long as the autopsy report is not made, it is complicated,” she explains. But once the deadline for possibly requesting a second opinion has expired, nothing will oppose repatriation. “

Already a meeting with the grandchildren

“My daughter told me that if something happened to her, she would like to be buried in Brazil next to her grandmother,” says the father. There is already a grave waiting for him. Financially, the problem is already resolved. In theory, it would cost 4,000 euros “but we were able to find a funeral director who would be ready to take care of it for 2,600 euros”, rejoices Nilma, of the association “Women of the resistance”. For three years, this new group has come to the aid of nearly 200 women in France who are victims of violence or precariousness.