Franck Siegler

Franck Siegler (born 19 September 1967) is a French serial killer and multi-recidivist killer.

A three-time murderer, Siegler committed his crimes between 1986 and 2017, appearing before the Assize Court on five occasions (1987, 2009, 2010, 2019 and 2021), resulting in three separate convictions (two for first degree murder and one for second-degree murder).

A criminal from 1980 onwards, he committed his first murder on 12 February 1986, when he was 18 years old. He was imprisoned and sentenced in 1987 to 10 years’ imprisonment. It was during this period of detention that he met Robert Moris, with whom he would kill again years later.

Released in 1993, Siegler was re-imprisoned in 1994 following a robbery and sentenced to one year in prison. In 1995, whilst on day release, he escaped for a few days. Imprisoned for these offences, he attempted to escape again and had his sentence extended by three years. Released in 1998, Siegler assaulted a taxi driver and stole his documents. Imprisoned for robbery with violence, he was sentenced again in 2000 to 10 years in prison.

While on day release on 13 March 2007, he failed to return to Meaux Prison and re-established contact with Moris, with whom he murdered Philippe Vuillet on 20 March 2007. Siegler was arrested on 5 April 2007 during a police stop in Paris. Moris was arrested two days later. They were imprisoned whilst blaming each other. Tried in December 2009, Siegler and Moris were sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment (with a minimum term of 20 years for Siegler). On appeal, on 1 July 2010, Moris’s sentence was upheld, whilst Siegler was sentenced to life imprisonment.

After being transferred to Vendin-le-Vieil prison, Siegler killed a fellow inmate on 9 January 2017, together with Jonathan Fragnière, a cellmate. In December 2019, Fragnière was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment, whilst Siegler was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years. On appeal, on 2 April 2021, these sentences were upheld.

Biography

Early life and delinquency Franck Siegler was born on 19 September 1967 in Belfort (Territoire de Belfort).

He was the fourth of seven siblings and the only boy. His father was a lorry driver, often away on business, but reputed to be an alcoholic and violent, tying Siegler to a dog lead when he got into trouble. His mother does not work and has no relationship with him. During his childhood, he told his mother that he had been sexually abused by his maternal uncle, but she refused to believe that her brother could have carried out such acts.

In September 1980, when he entered the fifth form, Siegler began to commit theft and various petty crimes. He was 13 at the time. In 1981, when he was 14, Siegler dropped out of school but, unable to find any stability, his mother placed him in a home. He stayed in and out of care until 1984, running away from home, stealing and committing petty crimes, living like a semi-vagabond.

First murder and detention On the night of 11 to 12 February 1986, Siegler spent the evening at his landlady's home with a 24-year-old man. Siegler quickly became violent when the young man made homosexual advances towards him. Enraged by these advances, Siegler violently hits the young man with a baton and strangles him to death with a scarf. Not knowing what to do with his victim's body, he decides to take it up to the attic and hang it from a beam. When Siegler's landlady discovered the body in the attic, she called in the police. The autopsy concluded that the victim had been murdered, due to the numerous wounds he had sustained.

On 2 June 1988, Siegler, aged 20, Patrick Turillon, aged 26, Serge Caujolle-Bert, aged 26, Lezhar Hakkar, aged 24, Mustafa Naamoune, aged 27, Stéphane Métayer, aged 22, and Abdelkader Adjadj, aged 24, appeared before the Besançon criminal court charged with damaging property. They were sentenced to a further four months in prison.

Release and re-incarcerations Siegler was released in 1993 after 7 years in prison. Following his release from prison, Siegler met his future partner and became the father of a daughter. He briefly kept in touch with Moris, but lost touch with him when Moris was released from prison in 1995.

Siegler attempted to escape twice, in 2000 and 2001, but failed each time and was sentenced to several more months. He then went on hunger strike, without further success. After these failed attempts, he calmed down and completed his sentence. In November 2006, he was transferred to the Meaux-Chauconin-Neufmontiers prison, where his exemplary behaviour surprised many.

On 19 March, Siegler met 33-year-old Philippe Vuillet over coffee at Moris's house. Seeing this as an opportunity to obtain identity papers to ensure his escape, Siegler planned to kill Vuillet. On the afternoon of 20 March, Siegler, Moris and Vuillet meet at Moris's home. While Moris went off to do some shopping, Siegler was left alone with Vuillet and took the opportunity to put some medication in Vuillet's glass. When Moris returns, Vuillet collapses. Siegler grabs a tear-gas canister, gasses Vuillet and ties him up with his belt. Moris was frightened and tried to restrain Siegler, who then pretended to give Vuillet a beating, claiming that Vuillet had confessed to him that he was a paedophile. The two men loaded Vuillet into his car, before stopping in a wood in Ensisheim. Siegler pulled Vuillet out of the car, beat him with a crank handle and then strangled him to death before tying him to a tree. Moris and Siegler then left the scene. Siegler and Moris headed for Belfort, but on 21 March Siegler abandoned his friend, leaving him alone. Moris called a friend, who drove him home that evening. Siegler continued on the run, but broke down on 23 March.

At the trial, the two defendants continued to blame each other, leaving some doubt as to who had inflicted the fatal blows. Siegler admitted helping Moris to strangle Vuillet, but denied having cranked the handle. For his part, Moris said he had not ‘touched a hair’ of Vuillet's head. Siegler was described in court as a manipulator who had taken refuge in crime and was at high risk of re-offending. Moris, on the other hand, was not considered to present the same risk, having committed no crime between his release in 1995 and the murder of Vuillet in 2007, despite his multiple convictions between 1975 and 1987.

Siegler was incarcerated at the Einsisheim prison, before being transferred to the Clairvaux central prison where, in 2016, he was caught by a guard in possession of computer equipment. Furious with him, Siegler threatened to kill him. He was charged with these offences. In September 2016, Siegler was transferred to the Vendin-le-Vieil prison. He strongly contested this decision and threatened to kill a fellow inmate if he was not transferred elsewhere.

Third murder in custody and other problems On 9 January 2017, Siegler, aged 49, went to the telephone point at Vendin-le-Vieil Prison, with a shoelace in his hand, to telephone relatives, according to him. At the same time, Jonathan Fragnière, a 28-year-old inmate imprisoned since July 2012 for aggravated attempted murder, went to the cell of Geoffrey Debouver, another 27-year-old inmate, leaving the cell door open. Taking advantage of this access, Siegler entered the cell, threw himself on Debouver, smashed his skull and strangled him to death using his shoelace. The prison guards immediately alerted the emergency services, but they were unable to resuscitate the victim. The autopsy concluded that there had been a rapid outburst of violence.

Siegler and Fragnière were taken into custody in connection with this case. Only Siegler admitted having struck Devouber. Fragnière denied any involvement in the crime. At the end of their period in police custody, Siegler and Fragnière were charged with murder in a state of ‘legal recidivism’. The two prisoners were transferred to another prison. The investigation into the crime concluded that they had been murdered, with evidence that the crime had been prepared. The fact that Siegler was holding a shoelace in his hand when he said he wanted to make a phone call lends credence to the theory of premeditation. In addition, he had repeatedly announced that he would kill someone in order to be transferred to another prison. As for Fragnière, he did not carry out the fatal blows but, because he passively witnessed the crime, he is being prosecuted as an accessory to murder.

Transferred to the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison, Siegler threatened to kill a guard in 2018 and ransacked his detention area. Judge Éric Martin charged him with making death threats and damaging property. In June 2019, Siegler called a guard on his cell intercom, telling him that he would have killed the guards if he had had the chance, during a previous hostage-taking incident on 5 March. He was again charged with making death threats. On 4 September, Siegler set fire to his cell. Once the fire had been brought under control, he insulted the prison guards and threatened to kill them. He was charged with criminal damage and sentenced to a further 2 years' imprisonment.

On 10 October, he appeared again before the Alençon Criminal Court for damage and death threats committed in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He remained in the box for only a short time, before being expelled for refusing to answer Judge Martin's questions. Siegler was sentenced to a further 16 months in prison for these offences. As a result of this judgement, Siegler's cell was compared to a cell in Beirut.

Judgement in the murder of Debouver On 9 December 2019, Siegler and Fragnière went on trial before the Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais) Assize Court for the murder of Debouver. They were 52 and 31 years old at the time. At the trial, only Fragnière was present, as Siegler refused to appear. Siegler's statements before the crime, concerning his intention to have Debouver transferred, were mentioned in court. For his part, Fragnière denied any murderous intent towards Debouver. The civil parties' lawyer, Carine Delaby-Faure, deplored the fact that the prison administration was ‘partly responsible for the tragedy’, citing ‘serious failings. On 11 December, Siegler was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a 22-year security period. Fragnière was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Both appealed against this decision.

On 30 March 2021, Siegler and Fragnière went on appeal to the Douai Assize Court (Nord). Unlike the trial at first instance, Siegler and Fragnière were both present in the box. When he speaks, Siegler apologises to Devouber's family, explaining that he should never have killed his fellow inmate, but blames the prison administration, which has ignored his repeated threats to act. He even looks away from the photos of the crime scene. For his part, Fragnière, who had always denied his involvement in the murder, finally admits his participation. This statement angered Siegler, who claimed that the crime had indeed been organised by him and Fragnière. On 2 April, Siegler was again sentenced to life imprisonment, with a 22-year term of imprisonment. Fragnière's sentence of 30 years' imprisonment was also confirmed.

Case of searches at Condé-sur-Sarthe prison In December 2020, Siegler also lodged a complaint against the prison administration for fourteen searches carried out in his cell, which he considered illegal. The searches were carried out between April 2018 and July 2020 at the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison.

On 9 December 2022, the Caen Administrative Court ruled that five of the searches had not been carried out legally and ordered the State to pay Siegler €500. The State was not ordered to carry out the other nine searches, which were motivated by damage to a glass-ceramic plate, suspicion of possession of a homemade weapon, prevention of the risk of suicide, the deposit of broken glass and a sharpened metal handle, and threats to set fire to his cell. On 30 May 2024, the Conseil d'État overturned the decision, rejecting Siegler's claim for compensation.

Siegler can also be compared to Lucas for his ability to kill on a simple sadistic impulse, in addition to his desire to be perceived as an exceptional criminal. Like Lucas, he has sometimes been described as a ‘serial liar.