The Case

Some cases are stranger than fiction. This was the experience of Catherine Messineo, divisional commander of the Nice Criminal Brigade, on May 6, 2014. Hélène Pastor, a wealthy Monégasque heiress, and her driver, Mohamed Darwich, were shot outside the Nice University Hospital. As evidence of a contract killing emerged, Catherine Messineo and her team had to do everything in their power.

The murders on Route Nationale 20 have obsessed several generations of investigators from the Versailles Judicial Police. Anger and frustration, the relentless search for evidence-it remains embedded in the department's DNA. And especially in the DNA of Gilles Leclair, who was then the deputy chief of the Versailles Criminal Brigade. It was a 30-year-long investigation.

Joël Vaillant, a retired Gendarmerie Colonel, reflects on one of the biggest judicial cases in French history: the Mourmelon disappearances. For 15 years, he pursued the most notorious serial killer of the 1980s, Pierre Chanal.

Commander Pierrick Guillaume always wanted to be an investigator, just like his father before him. But in 2004, while serving in the Paris Judicial Police, a case would leave a lasting impact on his life and career. Two men robbed a bar, seized the cash, and fled. One of the robbers opened fire, fatally wounding one of their pursuers.

On November 20, 2013, the body of a drowned baby was discovered on the beach of Berck-sur-Mer. This investigation left a lasting mark on Patrice Dancre, a retired police commander. How could a mother be capable of committing the unthinkable?

On October 5, 2017, in Servian, Hérault, Daniel Malgouyres shot and killed a burglar at his home who was threatening him. Thierry Laporte, chief warrant officer in the Montpellier research division, shares details about the most extraordinary case of his career, involving money, power, lies, and betrayal.