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Wrongly convicted of murdering two children in September 1986 when he was a 16-year-old apprentice cook. When questioned in April 1987 he confessed to the murder after 36 continuous hours of questioning, and although he immediately recanted it, his 1989 conviction was based on his confession. A minor at the time the murders occurred, Patrick Dils was sentenced to life in prison.

In 1997 lawyers hired by Dils' parents learned that in 1992 serial killer Francis Heaulme admitted that at about the time the two children were known to have been murdered, they threw stones at him, and he provided details of the murder not released to the public. Based on the new evidence Dils was granted a retrial. He was again convicted on June 29, 2001 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Dils appealed and was awarded another trial. Based on the new evidence by a police expert that Dils did not have time to have committed the crime, he was acquitted by a jury on April 24, 2002 and released later that day. Patrick Dils was wrongly imprisoned for 15 years and awarded compensation of 1 million euros.

Patrick Dils was born the June 30th 1970.

At 16 years, on April 30th, 1987, he was accused of Homicide S volunteers on two boys with Montigny-the-Metz, in the Moselle. January 27th, 1989, he was condemned to the Imprisonment with Perpétuité for Meurtre. April 24th, 2002, its innocence is recognized; it will have spent 15 years in prison, victim of a miscarriage of justice for which the French State poured a million euros to him. It is one of the most serious miscarriage of justices ever which have occurred in France, the first concerning a minor condemned for murder to the prison to perpetuity.

Its judgment

Facts

September 29th, 1986, two children, Cyril Beining (1978-1986) and Alexandre Beckrich, are found died along a siding of the SNCF to Montigny-the-Metz. Patrick Dils, then apprentice cook and 16 years old, is questioned because he lived the same street that they then is slackened.

Circumstances

At the time, it is young man a sixteen year old a little fragile and immature.

April 28th, 1987, it is challenged at the exit of its work in a restaurant of Montigny-the-Metz where it is in training. After thirty-six hours of police custody and interrogations over several days, it ends up acknowledging to have made this murder and declares that it does not know why it killed these children.

April 30th, 1987, he is accused of Homicide S volunteers and is écroué with the Prison of Metz-Queuleu. He will retract well quickly near his lawyer, but the Examining magistrate will not decide of it less one reconstitution for on May 7th, during which he always admits the crime. According to his parents, the lawyer would not have even explained to him of what consisted this procedural document however capital. But, on May 30th, 1987, he writes with his lawyer to retract.

At the time of the lawsuit, the lawyer asks that the family not attend the lawsuit. However his/her parents there go and realize that the lawyer does not fight absolutely and no capital question poses. The only time where Patrick Dils wanted to defend himself, it would have said to him: “Keep silent yourself, lets make me. ” On January 27th, 1989, he is condemned to the Life imprisonment by the Court of Assizes of the minors of the Moselle. The fact that he is minor will not have been taken into account, but the excuse of minority, question put systematically to sworn, would have made it possible to divide the duration of the sorrow by two (current law; at the time, the excuse of the minority would have reduced the sorrow to a 25 years maximum). For the first time since April 1987 his/her parents are authorized to see it five minutes in a corridor buckled by the gendarmes. The parents of the victims say that they would have wished for Patrick Dils the capital punishment (recently abolished in France by president Mitterrand, in 1981).

(note/correction on the preceding paragraph) According to an important report on the business, in the emission " Make enter the defendant " on France 2 in May 2007, the first lawsuit would have proceeded a little differently: it is Patrick Dils who speaks very little, completely deafened, frightened and intimidated by the Court of Assizes. It is moreover victim of a tooth ache and pronounces only one ten words. The lawyer, tries to him to defend it, but he complains that its customer does not do anything for his own defense. Person interviewed whereas it was cleared, Patrick Dils says that it was young at the time, and too frightened to speak. He is also moved because he re-examines for the first time his parents, after two years of prison without visiting room. Now, Patrick Dils expresses himself much more on the business. He even wrote a book.

A miscarriage of justice

The investigation

Seven months are passed between the murder and the arrest of Patrick Dils. According to his parents, the Varlet inspector of the Judicial police of Metz in charge of the investigation shows himself very aggressive and baits himself against the Patrick young person. It seemed to them that it absolutely needed a culprit and the examining magistrate of the time, Miss Maubert, shows the same type of behavior. At the time of a visit to this judge, when they ask for a license of visit to him, she would have answered them: You will never see it, final point, leave my office. In fact, she will refuse for sixteen months to grant a license of visit to the two parents.

Unfruitful tests of demand for revision

July 26th, 1990, its lawyers deposit a first demand for revision near the Court of appeal but it is rejected fault of new element.

The 6 May 1994, Patrick Dils requires the presidential pardon to François Mitterrand, which it will not obtain.

François Mitterrand written with the family of the victims, ensuring them that it will never grant his grace towards a murderer of children.

New facts

October 24th, 1997 the regimental sergeant major of gendarmerie Jean-François Abgrall, of the research department of the gendarmerie of Rennes, specialist in the files in which Francis Heaulme is condemned, put in examination or suspect, transmits to justice a document in which it gives an account of a maintenance that it had in 1992 at the prison of Brest with the serial killer Francis Heaulme, condemned for three homicides and put in examination for six others. In this official report, the written gendarme: Francis Heaulme held us the following remarks, saying to have carried out a walk with bicycle along a way of railroad in the east of France, to have received stones thrown by two children, to be party, then passed by again on the spot a few minutes, where he would have seen the bodies of two children close to coaches not far from dustbins and a bridge, to have seen later on the spot of the firemen and the police officers.

The gendarme proceeds at once to research on the double crimes of not elucidated children. But it does not find anything, because at that time (1992), Patrick Dils was already condemned and the double crime thus was regarded as elucidated and removed databases.

In 1996, the parents of Patrick Dils, who always believe in the innocence of their son, require of two lawyer S Parisian, Maîtres Florand and Achoui, to re-study the file. Being interested in Francis Heaulme, they send a mail to the gendarmerie of Rennes, the Abgrall gendarme then decides to write his official report of legal information, and on March 27th, 1998, Maître Jean-Marc Florand deposits a new request in revision after having learned that the Serial killer Francis Heaulme was near the place of the crime at the time where it took place.

The magistrate delegated by the Court of appeal, Jean Favard, had begun his investigations starting from a legal official report of information. Returning visit with Francis Heaulme, it obtains new precise details on its timetable on September 29th, 1986, day of the double murder. This last admits having been on the spot this day, per hour and the precise place of the crimes, to have seen the children, to have received on the head of the stones thrown by the two children, but denies to be the author of the double murder. Its presence constitutes nevertheless a “new fact likely to give birth to a doubt about the culpability of condemned”. The adviser rapporteur of the commission of revision dated June 30th, 1998 publishes two reports and of July 16th, 1998.

June 21st, 1999, the commission of revision of the penal judgments, chaired by Henri Gall, notes that the elements brought were completely unknown file of the Court of Assizes of the minors in 1989, qu ' they could only make doubt its culpability and agrees to submit the dossier of Patrick Dils to the court of criminal appeal of the Court of appeal sitting in Cour of revision. It from of deduced that it is necessary to order new investigations and with new hearings of the witnesses already heard in 1986 and 1989, but by confronting them with the declarations of Francis Heaulme.

During this time, Patrick Dils who already purged eleven years and half, remains always held. But its lawyer estimates whereas the Court of revision can order constantly that the execution of the sorrow is suspended.

June 26th, 2006, the serial killer Francis Heaulme is put in examination for " homicides volontaires" in the investigation into the murder of the two children of Montigny-the-Metz. Nona place in favor of Francis Heaulme is announced in April 2007, the DNA found on the pants seized in the residence of Francis Heaulme not corresponding to that of the two victims of Montigny-the-Metz.

Its innocence

April 21st, 2001, the Court of revision cancels the judgment with the life imprisonment of Patrick Dils but refuses to give it in freedom while waiting for a new judgment. June 20th, 2001 opens a new lawsuit. It is then old of thirty and one years, before the Court of Assizes of the minors of the Marne. Francis Heaulme appears but like simple witness. He refuses to endorse the responsibility for this murder, in spite of the suspicions which weigh against him. He and Patrick Dils look at themselves lengthily; Heaulme wishes even good luck with Patrick Dils before leaving.

The court, on June 29th, 2001, condemns it to twenty-five years of imprisonment, the general surprise. The journalists had already prepared their articles, announcing his payment, as from the moment when the prosecuting attorney had announced his inward conviction: according to him, Patrick Dils could not be the culprit. It would not have had time to commit this crime. Condemned again, Patrick Dils has ten days to appeal. It does it, like allow him from now on the new laws in force, voted for the circumstance.

April 8th, 2002, opens the third lawsuit before the Court of Assizes of the minors of the the Rhone. The law makes it possible from now on the lawsuit to be held in public. Crowd presses itself with the court. In majority, the public opinion favorable to Patrick Dils, who appears with a new look, without fume glasses, recoiffé, is slackened. Francis Heaulme is again heard, with testimonys with load weighing against him.

For the first time, Patrick Dils speaks about the torments endured in prison: it was beaten, ridiculed, violated even. It reconsiders its consents, very detailed, which were one of only evidence of the culpability of Dils. One is unaware of still exactly why Dils initially showed itself, at the beginning of the business. Evidence is produced by the gendarmerie, showing that Patrick Dils did not have time to commit this crime: the children died towards 17:00, whereas Patrick Dils returned at his place only towards 18:45.

April 23rd, 2002, the Prosecuting attorney claims neither sorrow nor judgment in its opposition; the Jury deliberates in a few hours and Patrick Dils is discharged on April 24th, 2002. It leaves prison the evening even to 22:10. Bodyguards surround the Dils family, preventing with the journalists from approaching them. Finally, Patrick Dils can express himself in front of the media, announcing her happiness to find freedom, finally. On their side, the close relations of the victims are disappointed, persuaded that a murderer is released.

Others

The request in revision

The request in revision for new element was deposited by the lawyer Jean-Marc Florand before the commission of revision of the penal judgments of the Court of appeal, in order to call into question a penal decision, stop of the Court of Assizes, become final.

This possibility must be attached to one or the other of the four subparagraphs aimed by article 622 of the Criminal procedure code: The revision of a final penal decision can be required for the benefit of any person found guilty of a crime or an offense when…

Subparagraph 4 to which the present request refers lays out: After a judgment comes to occur or to appear a new fact or an unknown element of the jurisdiction at the day of the lawsuit, likely to give birth to a doubt about the culpability of condemned.

In the business of Patrick Dils, the new element is the presence of Francis Heaulme, one of the French serial killers, in Montigny-the-Metz, on the spot of the double murder, at the day and hour when the latter were made. This presence is proven by two official reports: that established by the Abgrall gendarme and that of the rapporteur of the commission of revision which confirms and supplements the first. To date, in spite of the strong suspicions weighing against him, Francis Heaulme was not accused in this business. A remote region still weighs on this terrible double murder.

The compensation

Although it is difficult to compensate, reprobation, the attack with the honor, the loss of liberty, the brutal stop of its schooling, wrenching with the affection of its family and the violences undergone in prison; the lawyer Jean-Marc Florand quantified between 10 and 15 amount, FRF million which should be allotted to Patrick Dils.

Song

To fight against the injustice which Patrick Dils underwent, the singer Garou dedicates his new opus to him which is entitled: " The injustice". Patrick Dils makes an appearance in the clip.

Note: the song " The injustice" written a few years earlier by Pascal Obispo rises from personal experiences of Obispo and has nothing to do with Patrick Dils. But the interpreter of this song, the Canadian singer Garou, was approached by Mr. Dils during the concerts of the " Dumbs " and indeed, a few months later invited Mr. Dils has to appear in the clip of this song.

Patrick Dils also recorded a song evoking her history: " Condemned wrongly the " , text written by Cédric Goueytes following the reading of the book of Patrick Dils " I wanted just to return at home ". The music is signed Cédric Lemire.

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