Death of Tessa Raimbault, 17, near Nantes: the disturbing revelations of a fellow prisoner of the suspect six years after the events

Tessa Raimbault, 17, was hit by a vehicle on her way home from high school on December 20, 2018 near Nantes.

The death of Tessa Raimbault, 17, hit by a construction machine in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, near Nantes, was six years ago, on December 20, 2018, just before Christmas, at the end of the day, when it was dark and raining.

Today, New revelations, made by a man presenting himself as a fellow prisoner of the suspect, constitute a new ordeal for the family of the young woman, whose death has long remained enigmatic.

It was only after more than four years that the suspect, a 24-year-old resident of the commune at the time, was arrested, Le Parisien reported. He was denounced by a friend who saw the testimony of Tessa's mother, broadcast in June 2023 on the M6 ​​show “Call for witnesses”.

The suspect, indicted for involuntary manslaughter, aggravated by hit and run, then withdrew his confession. It was during this same show, a few weeks later, that the case took new twists and turns.

Between fear and anger

Tessa's family, torn between fear and anger, “waits for explanations”. The parents’ lawyer, Damien Legrand, quoted by France Bleu, explains that in October, a prisoner from Nantes prison contacted the team of journalists working on the case. The man said he had met the suspect when he was in pretrial detention, before he was released under judicial supervision at the beginning of the year.

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According to this fellow inmate, the suspect admitted to being responsible for Tessa's death. “He told us, in front of several witnesses, 'You weren't the one there that night. You don't know how you would have reacted in my place'”, he reported in a telephone conversation, broadcast by M6.

Also according to this fellow inmate, the suspect moved Tessa's body a few meters, while she was still alive, and benefited from accomplices to hide evidence and avoid being easily identified.

Before these elements were broadcast in mid-December in “Call for witnesses”, they were handed over to the investigating judge in charge of the case. Three months have passed since then, and since then, neither Mr. Legrand nor Tessa's family have had any feedback on the possible investigations carried out following these revelations.

“The family expected a quick response on these new elements. They hope that we will investigate possible complicity. The fear, which sometimes turns into anger, is that these elements have been neglected or that they have not been exploited as they should have been”, explains Mr. Legrand.

Important revelations

For the family's lawyer, these revelations are of capital importance: “These are new elements that reveal a completely different side of the suspect, who has gone from an admission of remorse to a denial of the facts. What is worrying for the family is that these statements do not seem to be made out of guilt, but with a certain boasting, even pride in having committed these acts without being worried.”

“These elements require rapid verification”, adds the lawyer, specifying that he could refer the matter to the investigating chamber of the Rennes Court of Appeal if no investigation is conducted.

The Nantes public prosecutor, the only person authorized to communicate on the case, has not yet responded to requests for clarification. As for Me José Aihonnou, the suspect's lawyer, he declined to comment, specifying that his client would reserve his statements for the judge.