Michel Lambin

Michel Lambin (born on 17 April 1950) is a French serial killer nicknamed the ‘Shepherd of Caussols’, the “Pugilist” or the ‘Shepherd of the Middle’. He is believed to have killed ten people between 1983 and 2004.

Biography

Youth Michel Lambin was born on 17 April 1950 in the northern suburbs of Paris. Lambin dropped out of school in 1964, at the age of 14.

In 1967, he served his first prison sentence at Fresnes Prison. Passionate about firearms and rebellious in nature, he served numerous prison terms for car theft, carrying prohibited weapons, and assault. In 1968, Lambin married at the age of 18. He later became the father of three daughters, born to his wife.

In the 1970s, Lambin tried to find stable employment but was unsuccessful. He worked as a butcher and an electrician, but was quickly dismissed for violence against a colleague and for theft from the company where he worked.

In 1979, Michel Lambin's trial began before the Paris Assize Court. He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for the robbery of his former company. His wife obtained a divorce and custody of their three daughters. During his incarceration, Lambin met several criminals with whom he played poker. He quickly found himself in debt and began owing money to two of his fellow inmates: Christian Lepage and Jean-Jacques Villey.

On 18 October, Lambin, accompanied by an accomplice, travelled by moped to Champigny-sur-Marne, to the home of Christian Lepage, one of his former fellow prisoners, aged 35, nicknamed ‘the mechanic’. Having travelled as a passenger on the moped, Lambin asked his accomplice to stop so that he could ‘run a couple of errands.’ Lambin killed Lepage with several gunshots. The dispute was over 100,000 francs lost in a poker game. Lambin then rejoined his accomplice and the two fled the scene.

Eleven days later, on 29 October, Jean-Jacques Villey, a 40-year-old friend of the ‘garage mechanic’, was changing a wheel on his vehicle in Crosne (Essonne) when Lambin and his accomplice appeared behind him. Villey was also shot several times with a pistol. Once again, the two accomplices fled and abandoned their moped. Inspector Gérard Merville, who was in charge of the homicide case, managed to find the killers' moped but, with no other evidence to go on, eventually closed the case.

Second series of murders On the night of 16 April 2001, Lambin hung Farid Errachdi with a meat hook in front of his front door, in his sheepfold in Caussols. Lambin dismembered Errachdi while he was still alive, causing him to die in excruciating pain. The remains of his body and clothes were thrown into two large buckets. When Lambin committed this new murder, Jean-Félix Leca witnessed the dismemberment of Errachdi. Lambin decided to plan another murder, fearing reprisals from Léca. A few days later, Lambin enters his caravan and fires several shots at Léca, 38, with his pistol while he is sleeping. Lambin then dismembered Léca's body. Lambin cut down several trees on his farm to make a fire, then burned the remains of Léca's dismembered body. Having awakened Nicole Rossi with his gunshots, Lambin told her that he was ‘purifying him, as the Hindus do’.

On 5 December 2002, Émile Fornasari hired Lambin to murder Robert Ludi, a 33-year-old school caretaker in Antibes, whom he accused of being a little too close to his ex-partner. Robert Ludi was shot dead at around 6.30 p.m. in his car by two 11.43 mm calibre bullets fired by Lambin. Ludi was murdered in the car park of the school where he worked as a caretaker in Antibes. The next day, the victim's sister, concerned about his absence from a lunch at their mother's house, went to his workplace. She discovered his body in the parked car. The crime seemed inexplicable to the victim's relatives, who knew of no enemies he had. Investigators attempted to find physical or genetic evidence, but no usable DNA traces were found.

Continuing his escape, Fornasari left France to take refuge in Switzerland, while Lambin continued to live in his sheepfold in Caussols. Fornasari was arrested in February 2004, after nearly three years on the run. He was charged with escape and placed in pre-trial detention at the Baumettes Prison. When Lambin learned of his accomplice's arrest, he devised a plan to break him out by helicopter with the help of Jean-Yves Guerrée, a 36-year-old man released in 2003 after serving ten years in prison, in exchange for €28,000 to be shared between them.

At around 2 a.m. on 1 July 2004, Guerrée went to Lambin's sheepfold to carry out the escape plan. During the night, Lambin refused to share the €28,000 with Guerrée and shot him several times before burying his body on his large property. Nicole, who was present, witnessed the scene and saw Guerrée being killed in front of her. During July, Nicole went to a church in Mougins to confess the ten murders and assassinations committed by Lambin. The priest of the church, surprised by the confidante's statements, persuaded her to go to the police station.

On 27 May 2009, Lambin appeared in court for the murder of Jean-Yves Guerrée alongside Fornasari, who was accused of attempting to escape on the night of the crime. The trial was held before the Alpes-Maritimes Assize Court. After denying the murder of Guerrée until the first day of the trial, Lambin finally confessed to the crime on 28 May. Defended by Éric Dupond-Moretti, Lambin was sentenced on 29 May to 20 years' imprisonment. Fornasari, meanwhile, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for his attempted escape. Only Lambin appealed his sentence. In February 2011, Lambin appeared before the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence for the murder of Guerrée. Once again defended by Dupond-Moretti, Lambin had his sentence reduced to 18 years' imprisonment. He was incarcerated at the prison in Grasse following his conviction.

Investigation into the murders of Farid Errachdi, Jean-Felix Léca and Robert Ludi In April 2011, investigators digging into Lambin's past decided to return to his farm to search for traces of Errachdi and Léca, who, according to Nicole Rossi, had been buried there. It was thanks to Nicole Rossi's confession that human remains were found. Ludi's murder was also investigated because Nicole Rossi confessed that it was the result of a romantic rivalry that Fornasari, Lambin's accomplice, could not bear. During a search of the sheepfold, a rifle was found and identified as the one that may have been used to murder Ludi.

On 25 May, Lambin was taken from prison and placed in custody for the murders of Errachdi, Léca and Ludi. Although he vehemently denied the three charges against him, as he had done for the murder of Guerrée, Lambin was again charged with the murders of Errachdi and Léca and returned to Grasse prison. In August, Lambin was re-interrogated for the murder of Ludi and was again charged with murder. During his detention, Lambin was sent before the Alpes-Maritimes Assize Court with Fornasari, who was also charged in this murder case as the instigator. All remain in detention awaiting trial.

Originally scheduled for 2 to 13 November 2015, the trial for the murder of Robert Ludi was postponed several times due to Lambin's health condition. Suffering from paralysing sciatica, he was unable to be transported by plane to the Assize Court. Lambin requested his release on the grounds that his health was incompatible with his detention and that his 18-year prison sentence was coming to an end. Lambin's request for release was rejected in April 2016. On 16 June 2017, Lambin and Fornasari were discharged of the murders of Errachdi and Léca.

Trial for the murder of Robert Ludi Lambin and Fornasari appeared before the Alpes-Maritimes Assize Court from 4 to 19 December 2017. During the trial, Lambin and Fornasari denied the murder of Robert Ludi for which they were being tried. After a two-week trial, Fornasari was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years, while Lambin was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years. Both appealed their convictions. The appeal trial was also postponed several times, notably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trial for the murders of Errachdi and Léca The trial of Michel Lambin and Émile Fornasari for the murders of Errachdi and Léca is expected to take place by 2025 before the Assize Court of the Alpes-Maritimes. No specific date has been set at this time.