Alexia Daval’s murderer had momentarily accused his brother-in-law, Grégory Gay, of strangling her. The public prosecutor had described these accusations as ‘immoral’, but had nevertheless asked for an acquittal

On Friday 24 May, the Besançon Criminal Court acquitted Jonathann Daval of the charges of slanderous denunciation brought by his family-in-law. The 40-year-old former IT specialist, currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of his wife Alexia in 2017, had accused his brother-in-law Grégory Gay of strangulation during the investigation and had mentioned ‘a secret pact to cover up the affair’ orchestrated by his in-laws.

‘The denunciations did not have the character of spontaneity required by law’, declared the court, in a judgement followed by video-conference by Jonathann Daval from Ensisheim prison (Haut-Rhin). Despite acknowledging the ‘rare immorality’ of the accusations, the public prosecutor had asked for an acquittal in April, arguing that it was ‘time to close this Daval case once and for all’.

Jonathann Daval was facing five years in prison, a sentence that would have been merged with his murder conviction. His in-laws were claiming €60,000 in damages: €30,000 for Grégory Gay, €10,000 for Alexia’s sister, and €10,000 for each of the parents, Isabelle and Jean-Pierre Fouillot.