Poncé Gaudissard

Poncé Gaudissard (25 September 1956 – 19 November 2019), was a French murderer and rapist. Gaudissard was involved in two double murders, in 2001 and 2003, and a rape in 2004. However, he was not prosecuted for the 2001 murder.

Arrested on 2 February 2004, Gaudissard was implicated by his modus operandi and his criminal record (multiple rapes and sexual assaults, which he committed between 1973 and 1994). Remanded in custody, Gaudissard was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment with a 20-year non-parole period in July 2008. After appealing, he was retried in March 2011. At the end of the appeal, his sentence was increased to life imprisonment, with a 22-year non-parole period. He had earlier been cleared of suspicion after DNA was mishandled.

Biography

Youth Poncé André Laurent Gaudissard was born on 25 September 1956 in Marseille. He was the second of four children. His mother was a housewife and his father a mechanic; the latter was an alcoholic who was violent towards his wife and children. The Gaudissard family is described as a modest one.

In 1976, at the age of 20, he broke into the home of his employer's wife and tried to rape her. She reasoned with him and he gave up. Gaudissard worked as a postman for several years. He had fantasies of assaulting other young women he met on his rounds.

On the evening of 22 December, an incident took place in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, at the home of Gaudissard's uncle and cousin: Laurent Gaudissard, aged 67, and his daughter, Sabine Gaudissard, aged 34. That night, Laurent was severely beaten on the head and mutilated 24 times with a knife that was never found. Sabine was hanged from the staircase banister by an electric cable. The house was then set on fire and the two bodies were burnt. According to the investigators (after Gaudissard's arrest in 2004), Gaudissard killed his uncle relentlessly, before killing his cousin by hanging. He is said to have killed them in revenge for a probable dispute with his uncle, who was 'target no. 1'. On 23 December, Gaudissard phoned his uncle and cousin, probably to establish an alibi that he was unaware of the possible double murder. As Sabine and Laurent could not be reached, Gaudissard went to their home and discovered smoke coming from the house. On arriving at the scene, Gaudissard alerted the fire brigade, who broke down the front door, which had been locked. The lifeless bodies of Laurent and Sabine were found in the rubble. When the police arrived, Gaudissard was questioned as a witness. However, due to a lack of evidence, Gaudissard was cleared of all charges.

In mid-April, the investigation was based on the assumption that the murderer knew the victims, because of the harassment that Audrey had suffered. Gaudissard worked at the same place as Audrey d'Amato before she was murdered, the Aix-en-Provence bus company. However, Gaudissard was not the only person with whom the young woman was in contact before her death. The investigation led first to Audrey's boyfriend and Chantal's ex-partner. Placed in police custody, they were cleared, however, because the DNA found in the rubble was not theirs. Traces of DNA found at the scene of the crime were then compared with that of the two victims. In May, Gaudissard was summoned to take a DNA sample. He claimed to have found out about the double murder, but said he had nothing to do with it. Following this brief questioning, Gaudissard's DNA was taken. He was not taken into police custody and was released after the sample was taken. He left the police station free, and none of the gendarmes noticed that he had a criminal record. Further, the DNA exonerated him from the double homicide in Meyrargues, as it was not the DNA found at the scene of the crime. Gaudissard was therefore not under any suspicion.

Criminal relapse and link with the Meyrargues case On the morning of 2 February 2004, Gaudissard entered a block of flats in Pertuis, then cut off the electricity to the building. Muriel Montborgne, Gaudissard's 40-year-old sister-in-law, was alerted by the power cut and decided to go downstairs to see what was causing it. She opened the door to get down there, but just then Gaudissard jumped out and pounced on her. He hit her and threatened to kill her with his knife. Gaudissard tied her up, dragged her onto the sofa and raped her. Meanwhile, one of Muriel's neighbours heard her screams and alerted the police, who arrived on the scene a few minutes later. At the sight of the police cars, Gaudissard threatened to kill Muriel and then leaves, jumping from balcony to balcony. Once downstairs, Gaudissard found himself trapped in the ground floor garden. In the meantime, Muriel opened up to the police and described to the abuse she had just suffered, telling them that he has escaped into the enclosed garden of the residence.

Gaudissard was immediately arrested and taken into custody. Meanwhile, Muriel's husband learned that she had been abused by Gaudissard, and in turn alerted the police in Aix-en-Provence. He now suspected Gaudissard of being behind the double homicide in Meyrargues, and explained that Audrey d'Amato was his secretary at work. When Major Daniel Bianco received Montborgne's call, he quickly made the connection with the Meyrargues case. He made another connection, in relation to Gaudissard's paraphernalia (gloves, cords, lighter, knife, plaster), which suggested that he was preparing to kill Muriel, as he had done with Audrey and Chantal 10 months earlier. At the end of his police custody, Gaudissard was charged with Muriel's rape and remanded in custody at the Baumettes prison.

On 4 July, after a four-day trial, Gaudissard was found guilty of the double murder of Chantal and Audrey d'Amato. However, he benefited from extenuating circumstances and was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment, with a 20-year security period. Gaudissard appealed his conviction.

In October 2010, Philippe L. was arrested and placed in police custody. During questioning, he discovered that his DNA had been identified as that of the Meyrargues murderer. Upon hearing this accusation, Philippe L. collapsed and expressed his incomprehension at the DNA result. The possibility of an acquaintance with Gaudissard was considered, before being completely ruled out. His bank statements were examined and showed that he had not left Compiègne at the time of the crime. Following this, an investigation was launched at the Gendarmerie laboratory, which discovered that a handling error had been made between Philippe L.'s fingerprint and the one found at the Meyrargues double murder. Philippe L. was cleared at the last minute and released from police custody. Gaudissard, however, remained in custody and his trial was postponed.