Who murdered Agnes Le Roux?

Sea view of the Palais de la Méditerranée © Dacoucou

Jean Pierre Hernandiez, 75, has now finally revealed to the press his secret: he knew the real killer of Agnes Le Roux all along. He claims that he has kept schtum up until now because of a mafia oath and a promise to a trusted friend, but that the burden of keeping it has driven him to depression. As a result, he says he can no longer keep hidden the identity of the man who murdered the 29 year-old woman.

Le Roux was the daughter of the owner of the Palais de la Mediterranée, one of Nice’s most lucrative casinos. She disappeared at the wheel of her white Range Rover in 1977. Two decades later, in 2007, her ex-lover, Jean-Maurice Agnelet, now 72, was charged with her murder and given a 20-year prison sentence. According to Hernandiez, however, the former playboy lawyer is serving time for a crime he did not commit.

In his book, Confessions of a Gang Leader, the former mob member unveils the ‘real’ culprit: his best friend Jeannot Lucchesi, another well-known figure from the Marseille underworld. The pair had been involved in an illicit heroine trade between Marseille and New York in the 1960s - this drug route was known as the ‘French Connection’. According to Hernandiez, his cohort and best friend admitted to him just several months before his death that he had been ordered to go to Nice to 'get rid' of the wealthy heiress.

As one of a group of hitmen, Lucchesi was involved in kidnapping Le Roux, killing her and dumping her body in the sea off Marseille. The killers then dismantled her car into parts at a mafia-run garage.

Even though he was guilty of committing a gruesome and horrific act, Hernandiez still sympathised with his friend, who was seemingly haunted by what he had done and he agreed to keep his secret.

No further details of where, when or how the crime was committed has been revealed. Although he may not literally have blood on his hands, Agnelet remains accused of various other offences related to his former-lover’s death, including being involved in a plot to stake claim in almost two million pounds of Miss Le Roux’s fortune.

AA