justice no longer opposes exhuming bodies

This is the decision that Béatrice Zavarro, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, hoped for. According to information from Radio France’s investigative unit which was also obtained by the newspaper MarianneThe Versailles Court of Appeal finally ruled, on November 7, that the request for the exhumation of Sophie Narme’s body was “acceptable“. The lawyer experienced his first denial of justice last April.

On December 4, 1991, Sophie Narme, 23, was raped and murdered while showing an apartment in Paris as part of her job as a real estate agent. For almost 34 years, the traces of several serial killers have been explored by criminal brigades. Patrice Allègre and François Vérove, nicknamed “Le Grêlé”, were under suspicion. But in 2022, it was Dominique Pelicot who was charged with the rape and murder of the young woman.

For Béatrice Zavarro, exhumation could be a way to “prove innocence“from his client, Dominique Pelicot, who always denies the facts.”He swears to me that he didn’t do anything, and I’m inclined to believe him. He’s not a murderer“, he explained a few months ago to the investigative unit of Radio France.”Moreover, today he detailed that he fully agreed to the exhumation request“.

If Dominique Pelicot is charged in this case, it will be because of the many similarities that exist with other files, where his DNA was indeed found. Namely the attempted rape of another young woman, “Marion”*, also a real estate agent, in Mitry-Mory, in Seine-et-Marne, on 11 May 1999.

Asked as part of a lengthy probe by the investigative unit last February, attorney for Marion and Sophie Narme’s family, Florence Rault, detailed disturbing similarities between the two cases beyond the young women’s professions: “violent attack”“use of ether“, “The victim’s shoes were stored carefully“…But in the case of Sophie Narme, Dominique Pelicot’s DNA has not been found to date.”Similarity alone is not enough to charge my client with murder“, insisted Béatrice Zavarro.

The first grave exhumation request, which was rejected last April, aimed to “look for possible traces of seminal fluid” of the attacker Sophie Narme. According to our information, the justice system then estimated, considering the time that had passed since the death of the young woman (33 years old) and the absence of preservation of the body in a leaded coffin that “the exhumation of Sophie Narme’s body was useless in uncovering the truth“.

In its decision dated November 7 2025, the investigative panel of the Versailles Court of Appeal considered that in fact there was no certainty regarding how the body was buried, there was none “additional verification or investigation“has never been done with, for example, “funeral directorBased on these conditions, according to the Court, the rejection of the request for grave exhumation which was decided in April 2025 by Judge Nathalie Turquey must be “cancelled“.”If, for example, a body has been embalmed, it means there is still a possibility of finding something“, explains Béatrice Zavarro who believes that with this decision, the Court “ordered, in fact, an excavation” : “No additional action requests are required“.

When requested, the Steering Chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal, at the time of publication of this article, had not responded to our request for clarification.

*His first name has been changed at the request of his lawyer.