David Lefèvre (serial killer)

David Patrick Roger Lefèvre (born 17 May 1980), known as The Swamp Killer (French: Le Tueur des Marais), is a French serial killer.

On 5 August 1999, Lefèvre committed his first armed robbery with an accomplice. Three days later, Lefèvre killed a homeless man during a second armed robbery. Sentenced to five years' imprisonment, he was released in November 2002. After escaping prison for car theft in August 2003, Lefèvre was re-incarcerated in 2005 for drug trafficking and repeat car theft, and sentenced to five years in prison.^[1]

Released in 2008, Lefèvre left Laon and moved to Amiens. On 14 January 2011, he killed one of his friends after buying cigarettes in Belgium. His body was discovered a month later in a marsh in the Avre region, and the investigation concluded that it was an accidental death. On 5 September, Lefèvre killed another of his friends in the same place. The discovery of his body five days later linked the two deaths. Arrested on 14 December, Lefèvre was charged with murders and placed in pre-trial detention. On 15 November 2013, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years.^[1][2]

David Lefèvre was born on 17 May 1980 in Reims (Marche). He was one of six children and grew up in a dysfunctional family environment, with unloving and incestuous parents who subjected him to physical and sexual abuse; he later described them as “social cases”.^[1]

In 1988, at the age of 8, Lefèvre was placed in foster care near Laon with his brothers and sisters after their father was arrested for gang rape. Lefèvre was a reserved child and evasive on certain subjects, particularly when asked about his parents and his early years with them.^[1][3]

Lefèvre's childhood was marked by absenteeism. Although he never saw his parents again, Lefèvre developed a persecuted and unhealthy personality, without noticing any difference from reality. In contrast, Lefèvre built a swing for his brothers and sisters to bring comfort to siblings who were also marked by a lack of love (one of his sisters would later testify to this).^[1]

In the late 1990s, Lefèvre turned to crime with the help of an underage accomplice. They bought a pellet gun with the intention of committing armed robberies.^[1]

On 5 August 1999, Lefèvre, aged 19, and his accomplice, a minor, committed their first armed robbery in Laon. The robbery was successful and a large sum of money was stolen. Following their crime, the two robbers planned to commit a long series of armed attacks, which could earn them even more money. On 8 August, Lefèvre and his accomplice prepared to repeat their armed robbery in the same town. However, the two young men were surprised by a homeless man and planned to steal his minimum income allowance as their loot. Seeking to impress the homeless man, Lefèvre shot him in the head with his pistol. Following the murder, Lefèvre also shot his victim's rat and then crushed it with his foot. The two perpetrators steal the victim's savings and flee. Due to the gunshot, passers-by at the scene of the crime are able to describe the fugitives. With the help of several witnesses, the police manage to track down Lefèvre and his accomplice.^[1]

On 12 August, Lefèvre and his accomplice were arrested and taken into custody. The two young men admitted to the crimes and claimed to have committed the robberies in order to obtain as much money as possible. However, they denied any intention to kill the homeless man, but admitted that they had intended to commit further robberies if they had not been arrested. Lefèvre and his accomplice were charged on 14 August with armed robbery and murder and then placed in pre-trial detention at Laon Penitentiary.^[1]

At this stage of the investigation, the police are trying to determine whether the murder of the homeless man was premeditated, but the investigation will establish that he happened to be at the scene of the robbery when the crime was committed. Regarding the pellet gun, they realised that the weapon was not lethal, supporting the theory of involuntary manslaughter. The investigators then attempted to uncover the personalities of Lefèvre and his accomplice in order to determine whether they were responsible for their actions and to find the motive for the two crimes. Lefèvre and his accomplice were examined by psychiatric experts to assess their mental state. The defence argues that the defendants killed the homeless man in a ‘state of insanity’ because, although they used a gun, their lawyers demonstrate that the two killers had not used it before their second armed robbery. Following the defence's request, the psychiatric experts found no loss of discernment in Lefèvre and his accomplice, as they had used their weapon to ensure their escape. Lefèvre and his accomplice were ultimately referred to the Douai Juvenile Assize Court for two counts of armed robbery, the second of which resulted in unintentional death.^[1][4]

On 2 May 2002, the trial of Lefèvre and his accomplice began before the Douai Juvenile court for two armed robberies, one of which resulted in unintentional death.^[1]

Now 22 years old, Lefèvre kept a low profile and his head down. However, he admitted to the facts, without confessing to any valid motive for the murder of the homeless man who, according to him, was ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’. On the stand, Sylvie and Nathalie Lefèvre testified about their childhood marked by violent and alcoholic parents, with a father convicted of complicity in gang rape. This testimony made an impression on the court, which decided to grant Lefèvre mitigating circumstances.^[1]

On 3 May, Lefèvre was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with a three-year probation period, as the court confirmed that there had been no premeditation at the time of the second armed robbery.^[1][3]

Lefèvre was released on 8 November 2002, after three years and three months in prison. Following his release, Lefèvre returned to live with his foster family and was reunited with his brothers and sisters.^[1]

In 2003, Lefèvre was arrested after stealing a car. Charged with vehicle theft, Lefèvre was released on bail and appeared in court immediately. He appeared before the Douai Criminal Court on 21 August for vehicle theft. He was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and remained free.^[1]

In 2005, Lefèvre was arrested again by the police for illegal possession of cocaine during a roadside check. In addition to his illegal possession, the police noticed that the vehicle had been stolen. Lefèvre was charged with drug trafficking and recidivism vehicle theft and then placed in pre-trial detention pending his trial. In 2006, he appeared before the Péronne Criminal Court for his offences (vehicle theft and drug trafficking) and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.^[1][5]

Lefèvre was released in 2008 after nearly four years in prison. He then moved to Amiens, where no one knew about his criminal record. He worked as a temporary warehouse worker and helped his neighbours when they needed it. Lefèvre met Julien Guérin, a former child in care who was forced to undergo drug treatment to cure his alcoholism. He later met Sylvie, a young woman living on the margins of society, with whom he became friends. Lefèvre seemed upset when, in 2010, Guérin met 17-year-old Alice Caron and started a family within a few months.^[1]

On the night of 13 to 14 January 2011, Lefèvre travelled to Belgium to bring Guérin back to his home in Amiens. Guérin was intoxicated, having consumed a large amount of vodka. Lefèvre took him in his car and drove him to the Camon marshes. For reasons that remain unknown, the tone escalated. Lefèvre struck Guérin on the head with a crowbar. Guérin fell into the Avre marsh and drowned. Following his crime, Lefèvre left the scene to return home and disposed of his baseball bat and crowbar so as not to arouse suspicion. On the night of 14 January, Lefèvre went to the home of Alice, Julien's partner, to tell her that Julien's behaviour the previous evening had been ‘disproportionate’, in his opinion, and that he would like to sleep with her in exchange for information. A complaint was filed the next day, but Lefèvre claimed that his visit was simply to ‘inform’ Alice about Julien's behaviour. As there were no charges against Lefèvre, he was released. On 17 January, Alice went to the police station in Amiens to report Julien Guérin missing. As the missing person was 22 years old, the police did not open an investigation. Four days later, she decided to contact the press, who took the disappearance seriously. Lefèvre remained in contact with Guérin's relatives, who had no idea of his guilt. It was around this time that Lefèvre bought a revolver holster. Guérin's body was found in the Avre river on 14 February by a lock keeper carrying out an inspection. When the body was discovered, the police did not yet suspect that Julien's body could have drifted there since his death a month earlier. An investigation was launched with a view to performing an autopsy. As the young man's body had been in the water for a month, the autopsy proved to be long and difficult. It was concluded that his death was accidental, after the young man had drunk buprenorphine and methadone; Julien was addicted to tranquillisers due to the alcohol addiction he had suffered from during his youth.^[1][6]

In early August, Lefèvre learned that Sylvie had started a relationship with Alexandre Michaud, a 24-year-old man. He seemed to be affected once again by what he perceived as his friends abandoning him, as they were getting into relationships a few months apart and leaving him out of their new lives. During the night of 4 to 5 September, Michaud violently struck the wall following an argument with Sylvie and injured his wrist. Sylvie, having no means of transport, called David Lefèvre. Upon arriving at the couple's home, Lefèvre took Alexandre in his car to the hospital. Alexandre was treated in the emergency room, but when he was discharged, Lefèvre took the young man to the Camon marsh and shot him with his revolver. Wounded, Alexandre fell into the marsh, got his feet caught in a chain used as a mooring line, and died a few minutes later. Lefèvre fled and returned home. Sylvie went to the police station on 6 September to report Alexandre's disappearance. She recounted their argument the day before and said that he had disappeared after Lefèvre took him to hospital. Following Sylvie's testimony, an investigation was launched into his abduction and a search began to find the missing 24-year-old. On 10 September, Michaud's body was discovered in the Camon marshes, his feet caught in a mooring rope. The police did not immediately make the connection with Guérin's death because the two victims were not found in the same place. They initially took Sylvie's former partner into custody because he had threatened to kill Michaud during his short stay in the Somme. He confirmed his death threats against Michaud but claimed to have reconciled with his rival when the latter dropped his children off at his house a few hours before the tragedy. The suspect was therefore released. When they reopened Guérin's case, investigators discovered that Lefèvre was the last person to have been with the two young men before their deaths.^[1][7]

Lefèvre was taken into custody on 14 September for the murder of Michaud. During his interrogation, the suspect resisted the police officers questioning him. Lefèvre gave his version of events, but the police extended his custody after discovering his criminal record. After extensive questioning, Lefèvre was released from the police station because there was insufficient evidence to charge him. The investigators decided to place him on wiretapping his phone and gather more evidence. A new autopsy was performed on Guérin's body. The forensic scientist, tasked with examining the photos of the body, immediately rejected the accident theory: the wounds on the head were consistent with an ante-mortem rather than a post-mortem injury. In his report, issued on 2 November, he mentions an impact caused by a blunt object, probably wielded by a third party. It is therefore a case of voluntary homicide, with Lefèvre becoming the prime suspect. On 8 November, a telephone call between Lefèvre and Sylvie caught the attention of the police: while Sylvie seemed to be getting on his nerves, Lefèvre told her not to provoke him, saying that he had [already] killed three people and that he would have no qualms about doing it again. As this was said in a joking tone, Sylvie did not take Lefèvre's statements seriously. As for the blood found in his car, Lefèvre was unaware that it was unusable and mentioned it on the phone. He claimed that Michaud was bleeding when he arrived at the hospital, which the hospital denied when staff were questioned. Lefèvre's behaviour therefore becomes suspicious.^[1][7]

On 14 December 2011, Lefèvre was once again taken into custody. After lengthy questioning, Lefèvre denied the allegations and decided to stop answering the police's questions. Confronted with his inconsistencies regarding Michaud's death, he finally admitted to killing him, but claimed it was accidental. According to him, Lefèvre had taken the victim to the scene to give him a weapon. Michaud then allegedly snatched it from his hands and fired it. Lefèvre said he killed Michaud so that he would no longer suffer. When questioned about his choice of location, Lefèvre made a mistake: he said he chose this place because it was where Guérin's body had been found. Following his confession, Lefèvre was taken to the Camon marshes to answer for the murder of Alexandre Michaud. Unaware that Julien's body had drifted away with the marsh current, Lefèvre noticed that Guérin had been discovered further away, thus unwittingly confessing his involvement in the first case. Because of this ‘accidental confession’, Lefèvre was charged on 15 December with the murder of Alexandre Michaud and Julien Guérin and placed in pre-trial detention. He was thus nicknamed the ‘swamp killer’.^[8][9].

On 20 March 2012, after denying the facts, Lefèvre wrote a letter to the prosecutor from his prison cell, confessing to both murders in detail. Lefèvre wrote his confession, expressing apologies and remorse to the families of his victims. A few days after receiving the letter, the investigating judge ordered a reconstruction of Lefèvre's two crimes. On 25 September, the reconstruction took place and showed that Lefèvre had given his victims no chance. The victims' parents were also present to see their children's killer, whom they had never seen before. At the end of the reconstruction, Lefèvre returned to prison without confessing to the motive for his crimes.^[10]

In early 2013, David Lefèvre was sent to the Assize Court of the Somme for the murder of Alexandre Michaud and the killing of Julien Guérin (premeditation was not retained for this crime).^[10]

On 12 November 2013, Lefèvre's trial began before the Assize Court of the Somme.^[1][11]

The 33-year-old defendant kept a low profile and bowed his head, announcing his wish to remain silent. He remained motionless and silent, admitting that he would accept his sentence and that he did not deserve any support from his friends and family; the latter nevertheless tried to help the accused, even though he did not defend himself. One of the lawyers for the civil parties painted a picture of a serial killer, insisting that he "kills for no reason ". As in his first trial in 2002, Sylvie and Nathalie Lefèvre testify about their difficult childhood: violent, alcoholic parents, a mother who blamed each of her children for being born, and a father convicted of complicity in gang rape.^[8][12]

On 15 November, Lefèvre was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years.^[2]

Having not appealed his sentence, Lefèvre will be eligible to apply for parole in December 2033.

• List of French serial killers

• "David Lefèvre, the Swamp Killer", released on February 3, 2020, on Faites entrer l'accusé and presented by Frédérique Lantieri on France 2