The 37-year-old Tarn man’s referral to the assizes, requested in June by the public prosecutor’s office, had been contested by his lawyers

Jubillar case: Cédric Jubillar sent back to trial for the murder of his wife Delphine

On Thursday, the Toulouse Court of Appeal confirmed the decision to refer Cédric Jubillar to the Tarn Assize Court for the murder of his wife, Delphine, in December 2020. Despite the charges brought against him, the 38-year-old painter continues to proclaim his innocence, denying any involvement in his wife’s disappearance. A trial date has not yet been set.

A judicial denouement after four years of investigation

After almost four years of lengthy and meticulous investigation, this decision marks a crucial stage in the case that has held the country on tenterhooks. As early as November 2023, the investigating judges had issued a detailed indictment, highlighting the incriminating evidence gathered against Cédric Jubillar. The 61-page document, the contents of which were revealed by BFMTV, referred to “in-depth investigations to rule out other hypotheses and gather sufficient evidence against the main suspect”. Faced with this decision, the defendant’s defense immediately lodged an appeal.

Attempts to clarify the case failed to produce any new information

On January 18, the examining magistrate’s chamber of the Toulouse court of appeal was forced to postpone consideration of this appeal in order to examine a request for additional information from the public prosecutor’s office. This request was prompted by new information that emerged after the close of the investigation, notably a conversation between one of Cédric Jubillar’s former cellmates and his mother, as well as the testimony of other people claiming to have information about the case. New excavations were even carried out last spring at La Soulié, near Cagnac-les-Mines, after a clairvoyant revealed the possible location of Delphine’s body.

However, these new investigations failed to uncover any new clues, leaving the investigation unchanged. At the time, Cedric Jubillar’s defense team renewed its criticism, denouncing the proceedings as exclusively “incriminating” and expressing skepticism about a favorable outcome.

An inevitable trial despite the persistent vagueness

Despite the absence of a body, a crime scene, a confession or a direct witness, the judicial authorities considered that they had sufficient evidence to refer Cédric Jubillar to an assize court. Investigators remain convinced that the accused, disturbed by the news of his wife’s imminent divorce, committed the irreparable on the night of December 15 to 16, 2020, in their family home in Cagnac-les-Mines, near Albi.

Delphine Jubillar, a nurse and mother of two, is still missing. The upcoming trial is already shaping up to be one of the most eagerly awaited in recent years, with a central aim: to shed light on this family drama and unravel the mysteries surrounding this tragic disappearance.