Little Grégory’s father, Jean-Marie Villemin, signs the preface to the comic strip “Grégory”, published this Thursday by Les Arènes. He recalls the death of his son in a touching story.
On October 16, 1984, little Grégory Villemin, 4 years old, disappeared in the town of Lépanges-sur-Vologne. His body was found a few hours later, in the Vologne, a river in the Vosges, and it was the start of a historic legal case, which marked and moved the whole of France. Forty years later, the release of the comic strip “Grégory” by Éditions The Arenasthis Thursday, October 3, 2024, marks a turning point for his father, Jean-Marie Villemin, determined to express his thoughts differently. His words are rare, in the media and in general, his last appearance dates back to 2006, at the time he gave an interview to the newspaper The Cross. The comic strip “Grégory”, co-written by Pat Perna and illustrated by Christophe Gaultier, allows little Grégory’s dad to express his truths in a poignant preface. He is also the main character of the album.
“I broke down, I took my cousin’s life”
Through his lines, Jean-Marie Villemin returns to the “total annihilation” felt after the murder of his son. “I wonder how we survived. We were lost (him and his wife), at the bottom of the abyss, without any support, tossed by events and erratic justice.” Because, yes, little Grégory’s father tackles the treatment of the affair head-on in the preface to this comic strip. For him, the investigators, magistrates and journalists “who approached the case closely, and who for some devastated it, express themselves without scruple or shame and take the opportunity to say anything”. He denounces the “manipulations” of certain journalists “which have led to so much delay in the search for the truth and so many misfortunes which should never have happened”.
His account also mentions guilt. In March 1985, he killed his cousin Bernard Laroche with a rifle, the latter being suspected of being linked to Grégory’s murder. “I broke down, I took my cousin’s life, I will forever remain a murderer. I regret it so much,” he admits. For these facts, he was sentenced to five years in prison in 1993. “Revenge is not a solution,” he admits. “We have to live with this weight afterwards. I have matured, I have learned, I have calmed down and I know the price of pain and tears,” he writes in his preface. However, nothing can give her her child back. “A crow whose identity we still do not know killed our 4-year-old son to make me die of grief. In the name of what? To satisfy what hatred?”, questions which remain unanswered, even today.
For 30 years, Jean-Marie Villemin had not spoken out about the tragedy which turned his life and that of his wife Christine upside down: the assassination of their son Grégory, on October 16, 1984.
After two years of discussions with authors, Grégory is released in bookstores on October 3. pic.twitter.com/en4889alhf— Éditions Les Arènes (@les_arenes) September 23, 2024
“I think every day of our little man, Grégory”
For Jean-Marie Villemin, “the final result” of this comic strip “is impressive, surprising, heartbreaking, to say the least.” It was he who even wanted to “take the lead” on the forty years since his son’s death. “I like this means of expression which can be rigorous, accessible to all,” he confides. He concludes his preface by addressing Grégory directly: “I think very hard, every day, of our little man, Grégory, who gives us the strength to live without him, to live outside of hatred, without resentment, of live happily and live for his memory forever with him. Grégory’s mother, Christine Villemin, did not wish to participate in the comic strip project.