Fünffachmord in den Alpen… 

A small, snow-covered cottage in the French Alps, a dream for winter sports enthusiasts, but also for most tourists. The sun breaking through the crystals on the windows and the silence broken only by birdsong.  It is a state of affairs in the beautiful vintner’s house: five bodies lie, three of them children.

The dark brown hardwood parquet floor is speckled with bloodstains, yet only a few hours later the chalet will shine again in its former glory, and nothing hints at the gruesome crime I committed there.  Almost nothing. Something is still hidden in the cracks of the beautiful parquet, a clue to the gruesome truth.

 The date is April 12, 2003. Fourteen-year-old Mario LeBlanc makes his way through the snow-covered streets of Le Grand Buon. The small village surrounded by mountains in the French Alps is a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts or simply for those who want to spend their vacation in one of the luxurious wooden houses and drink hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.

At least, that is the idea Mario has of his Easter vacation. Annoyed by  After the many exams and classes of the last few days, he’s looking forward to finally  seeing something different and being back on his snowboard after a long time.  Since the peak season for winter sports is already over, the streets of the village of 2,000 inhabitants are deserted.

Apart from a few tourists, only the locals are out and about. One of them is Graziella Ortolan, Marius’s mother. His parents are… The 14-year-old lives with his father, but whenever he has free time, he travels to spend time with his mother. Mario stops in front of one of the chalets.  The luxurious wooden house has hardly changed since his last visit.

 It ‘s one of the largest in the area and probably costs a small fortune, but Graziella doesn’t have to worry about money. A few years ago, she married RAV4. The building contractor from northern France  found the area around Le Grand Banon so beautiful that he decided to settle there. In 1999, together with Graziella, he bought the approximately 300-square-meter chalet that he had previously built himself.

Ravier has always pursued a luxurious lifestyle through his charismatic…  Ravier, with his ambitious nature, had achieved some success as a real estate agent and had thus acquired numerous vacation homes in the area. He liked to show off his wealth; he not only hosted luxurious parties at his house but also owned four cars and numerous motorcycles, not all of which could be accommodated in the garage.

 These vehicles  often caught the eye of curious neighbors on the street.  You can probably imagine that Ravier had many envious detractors who begrudged him his success or  disapproved of the way he displayed his wealth. But beneath what the public saw, there was a loving family man. Graziella and Ravier had three children: Gregory, Letizia, and Sarah, who were their pride and joy.

Mario, Graziella’s son from her first marriage, was always welcome at the family home.  It’s shortly after 10 a.m. when Mario presses the doorbell of the large wooden house all the way down.  No one answers, just as with his first three attempts. Mario knows that his step-siblings, now between seven and eleven years old, have been training for a ski race in recent days, but he thought that at least his mother would be waiting for him at home.

  He knew he was coming to visit today, but even a call to her went unanswered. Most of the curtains were drawn. Where Mario could see inside, everything looked normal but deserted.  Mario decided to wait in front of the house; the five of them would surely be back by lunchtime at the latest. The morning passed, and Mario became increasingly content.

 If he had known he would have to stand outside in the cold for so long, he would have dressed more warmly. When, after three hours, no one from the family came home or answered Mario’s calls, he decided to  go to Christin’s, a friend of his mother’s who lived nearby, and wait there.  Mario spent the whole day and even the night with her.

 His mother had n’t contacted him, and the house still seemed deserted. The next morning, Mario and Christin were worried. Perhaps there had been an accident, and that was why Graziella wasn’t getting in touch. Nothing else would fit her character. The two decided to take a closer look at the house. He managed to gain access through a side entrance.

 The suspicion that the house was deserted was confirmed. The feeling walking through the large and silent chalet was particularly strange for Mario; it felt strange whenever he was there. The house is usually full of life, but this time everything is different. That’s not the only thing that strikes her as odd.

Although Ravier is particularly careful to ensure that electrical appliances are switched off when no one is home, two computers are switched on. Furthermore, the house is very neat and tidy. This isn’t unusual in itself, but the couple’s three children mean that at least a few things are lying around here and there.

Now everything is almost clinically clean, which also doesn’t fit the overall picture. Another thing that doesn’t fit is the fact that all the beds upstairs are missing pillows, blankets, and sheets. Kristin, who is also certain that Gazelle would never abandon her son, alerts the police and reports the strange occurrences.

The police search the house and, apart from the items already mentioned, find no further clues as to the Flavivs’ whereabouts.  However, it is noticeable that there is still a pot of food on the stove.  Accordingly, nothing actually suggests a vacation or a planned disappearance by the family. The next day, the police begin questioning the neighbors.

 They quickly realize that envy is a much bigger issue than they initially thought. Many are particularly negative towards Ravier; they do n’t like the way he…  He flaunts his wealth;  he also owns many of the surrounding houses, and the residents are known for charging high rents. During the TV interview with David Hotjot, the neighbor being interviewed by the family, the envy is palpable.

You can already guess from the outside how huge this chalet is. Inside, there are countless leather armchairs and a huge television. He owns several SUVs and a Mercedes, and apparently also a Porsche, which I’ve never actually seen myself. Four days later, the public prosecutor’s office orders a thorough house search.

 They are certain that the key to solving the disappearance lies in the house. We must be overlooking something. This time, the police quickly notice the contrast between the ground floor and the first floor. While the living room in the entrance area is almost meticulously cleaned, the upper floor is chaotic. Parts of a carpet have been cut out, and entire pieces of wallpaper.

Something must be happening here. Several hours pass during which the investigators make no progress. It seems as if the mystery of what happened in the beautiful house will remain unsolved. But when the investigators examine the wooden floor of the living room more closely, they find a broken piece of a tooth between the planks.

  The  next few minutes follow the trail of six more pieces; they are all so tiny that they have slipped into the small gaps in the parquet floor. While the lab is busy trying to determine whose teeth the teeth belong to, the search of the chalet continues. Behind a curtain in the living room, the investigators finally find a 6.35 caliber cartridge case.

 Next to it, tiny  blood spatters are visible on the wood. This leaves no doubt that a crime has taken place in this house.  However, further clues are still needed to reconstruct the exact sequence of events. Since    searching the nearly 400-square-meter chalet with the small group would take forever, the police request assistance from the National Red Cross.

 The very next day, a huge team arrives and searches the house room by room using luminol, a chemical compound that can make traces of blood visible, even if they have been wiped away. The result is shocking: blood is everywhere in the house. The police even describe their find as a veritable bloodbath.   Large quantities of blood are found in the children’s rooms, on the stairs, and in most of the other rooms as well.

Furthermore, bloody drag marks were found in the hallways, and under a carpet, the bloody outline of a body was even discovered. Based on the amount of blood, the police were certain that more than one person had been murdered. However, it was still unclear whether the family had been the victims of this crime or whether they themselves were the perpetrators.

At that time, the local population suspected that he had murdered his family and fled abroad.  It was also considered possible that Graziella wanted to separate from him and met him, who murdered her and abducted their children. A few pieces of information that came to light further fueled this theory.

 Firstly, it was known that Ravier occasionally engaged in dubious business dealings, which led the court to conclude that he was actually heavily in debt and murdered his family out of desperation. Secondly, a week later, his red Toyota Land Cruiser was found abandoned at Geneva Airport. An examination using luminol revealed that the entire trunk was full of blood, as was the cutlery.

 The assumption that Ravier fled abroad after murdering his family was supported. A local resident later commented that no one at that time seriously thought anything had happened to Ravier.  On July 15th, the lab results of the blood tests finally came back.  Blood from all five family members, including Ravier’s, was found both in the house and in the car.

 The results could even be specified more precisely:  a large amount of Graziella’s blood was found in the laundry room; blood belonging to the daughter was found in a corner of the living room; blood from Gregori and Rafi was found on the radiator; and blood belonging to Letizia was found in one of the children’s rooms.

 The tooth fragments could be traced back to her.  The amount of blood was so immense that it was assumed none of them could have survived. Now that it was certain Ravier had not murdered his family, the new theory among the local population was that the family had been murdered because of Ravier’s dubious business dealings.

Ravier had over 70 bank accounts and had previously faced legal proceedings for his business activities.  During the trial, he even lost his business license.  It is speculated that this was also the reason why he fled to the remote Alpine village. It is now also known that various valuables, as well as RAV4’s work laptops, were stolen.

This could also be a contributing factor.  In addition to the victims’ blood, the police were  able to find another DNA sample in the house, which most likely belonged to the perpetrator. A large-scale operation was undertaken in which saliva samples were taken from all residents who agreed to participate.

 This allowed  over 300 people to be ruled out.  However, what was much more interesting for the police was that all residents who were asked for a sample immediately agreed. All but one, David, the family’s neighbor whom I quoted at the beginning, did not provide a sample. He had already attracted the attention of the police when they cordoned off the area; he had been meticulously observing the activity with binoculars.

The police officers pointed out to him that he would arouse suspicion if he did not provide a sample. David then agreed, and two days later they had certainty: his DNA matched that from the crime scene. When  David was examined more closely, the investigators found even more evidence pointing to his guilt. David had been living in Denon with his wife Alexandra Leffer for two years.

 They had two small children; money was always tight for them. David worked as a car mechanic, and Alexandra as a cleaner. She also spoke out after the incident. The family’s disappearance during an interview was negative. I worked for them, not for long, just a week. There were constant problems. He was obviously a con man.

People kept calling and complaining. It was always, ” Leave me alone, you can go to hell.” Because of their  low income, they had trouble paying their rent, and you probably already know who their landlord was: Ravier. In the past, they had often argued after Ravier raised the rent and rented the family’s house to someone else during peak holiday season.

The couple felt this was unfair. Ravier already had so much money; why didn’t he at least meet them halfway  when it came to the rent? David and Alexandra were particularly close friends with another couple, Stefan Haremser and his wife Isabel. David and his friends had already come to their attention in the past because they committed minor crimes, such as siphoning gasoline from other cars and stealing.

Although David’s envy and the problematic rental situation already point to his guilt, the police need more evidence. It is also not yet clear whether he committed the murder alone or if he had accomplices. The police are beginning their investigation.  By tapping his phone and monitoring his car, and through various phone calls with Alexandra, it quickly becomes clear that something must have happened in April.

Alexandra says that she has felt uneasy ever since and no longer knows if she can trust Isabel. On September 17, 2003, the police have enough evidence and arrest all four suspects. In David and Alexandra’s house, they find all the missing valuables belonging to the flaktivs, and in their garage, they even find toys that belonged to Gregory, Letizia, and Sarah.

Contrary to expectations, David immediately shows remorse. During his initial questioning, he confesses to the crime. He says that he was angry about the high rent and that their house was rented out again during the holidays.  On April 11, he arrived at Ravier’s house at the same time as Ravier’s children. The three of them let him in, and he waited inside for Ravier because he was afraid of him.

 He was carrying a pistol. He wanted to talk to Raffi about the rent again, but the conversation escalated. A shot was accidentally fired, and he was fatally injured. In a  panic, he then killed all the witnesses—his wife and children.  He  discovered the bodies, unwrapped layers from the bedroom, and put them in the RAV4. Afterwards, he cleaned the entire house and drove it with several gasoline-powered cars to a forest 10 km away.

 There, he dumped the bodies, doused them with gasoline, and set them on fire. [Music] After three hours, the bodies were completely burned. That’s why David went back home a few days later. He parked the car at Geneva Airport and sent the pistol to his brother in northern France.  Alexandra, Isabell, and Stefan confirm David’s statement and say that they themselves had nothing to do with the crime.

However, the police doubt this sequence of events.  Firstly, it is almost impossible that David could have accomplished all of this in one night. Just  cleaning the entire house would have taken many hours, so he must have had help. Secondly, only minimal bone fragments of the family were found at the spot where the bodies were burned.

 To   burn five bodies almost completely in sub-zero temperatures and snow would have   required large quantities of gasoline, but above all, several hours. After three hours, as David stated, there wouldn’t even have been enough. Almost everything was burned. David also testified that he had wood for fuel and for the foundation.

 According to calculations, however, around 800 kilos of wood would have been needed to maintain a fire of that size for so many hours.  As mentioned, remember that it was windy and freezing cold in the Alps at that time. There was also quite a lot of snow in the area. Keeping a large fire burning for a long time isn’t as easy as it is here.

Even putting the bodies on the woodpile wouldn’t have been easy to accomplish alone. All of this says something about the act: it must have been planned. He didn’t kill him in a fit of rage. Stefan finally admits after several hours of interrogation that he and David had planned the act together. They had already gone to the family’s house on April 9th with the plan that he would kill the children and David the parents.

 But an argument breaks out in front of the house.  Stefan has second thoughts and no longer wants to commit the murder.  David is angry and says that he is a coward.  The two abandon the plan, and David returns alone to the chalet of the fugitives a few days later  to kill them. Alexandra confirms  Finally, this sequence of events is also described, and it is added that David was envious and had been planning the murder for weeks.

In the preceding months, his envy had fueled a genuine hatred for the families. David remains in custody, and the other three are charged with covering up a murder. It  is still unclear whether David committed the murder alone; a bloodstain pattern analysis is intended to clarify this. The conclusion is that the RAV4 was killed by a gunshot; all other family members died from a blow with a blunt object.

An analysis of the family’s phone calls also revealed that Graziella was still on the phone at 5:30 p.m., but met shortly after 6:00 p.m. The crime is finally reconstructed as follows: Around 5:00 p.m., the children came home from school. Soon after, David must have gained access to the house; either he simply rang the doorbell or he arrived with the children already in Chalets.

 When they arrived home, David first overpowered seven-year-old Gregori and killed him in the living room. Ten-year-old Sarah witnessed everything and tried to escape, presumably initially through the back door, but it was locked. On the way to the front door, David caught her.  David and killed Letizia, who had been upstairs in the children’s room the whole time.

 She heard her siblings crying and screaming and hid behind the bed. When the screams stopped, she perhaps already suspected that she would be next. David came upstairs, found her behind the bed, and beat her until she died from the severe head injuries. Gazelle was in the laundry room in the basement the whole time and did  n’t notice the murder of her children.

 Presumably, she either heard music or the loud washing machines. Closed doors were enough to silence the screams on the upper floors; it was there that she was overpowered and murdered. Ravier only came home some time later. David was waiting for him there, and a fight broke out between the two men, ending with David shooting him. When confronted, David confessed that it was true and added that he and Stefan had burned the bodies over several days.

 It is suspected that he also had help cleaning the house, but it is unclear whether Fun helped him, or also Isabell and Alexandra. In a letter from David to his father, his father writes that he had a blackout.  Psychological examinations confirm that he is criminally responsible and was capable of logical thought the whole time.

 He merely has an immature personality, as doctors attest. [Music] A month and a half later, David recants his confession and says he did not commit the crime, that he is innocent. However, the evidence against him is sufficient, and so in 2006 he is sentenced to life imprisonment, meaning he must remain in prison for at least 22 years.

 David files an appeal but withdraws it shortly afterward.  Stefan Herr Remser is sentenced to 15 years in prison for complicity.  Alexandra Levre is sentenced to 10 years in prison for a crime and is convicted of felony and felony. Isabel Haremser is sentenced to 7 years in prison for the same reasons. And that brings us to the end of today’s video.

 Envy is one of the seven dead, and in today’s case, it cost five people their lives. I feel especially sorry for the children. You can hardly imagine the  fear Letizia must have felt when she hid behind her bed and heard David, who had just murdered her siblings, climbing the stairs to hers step by step. All because he was envious and couldn’t stand to see him live his luxurious life.

What do you think about this? Feel free to write it in the comments. And if you liked the video, please leave a like or comment. This really helps the channel a lot. Also, please activate the bell icon, because this gives the video a lot of interaction shortly after uploading, and with lots of interaction, YouTube might suggest the video to people who aren’t yet subscribed to the channel in the info box.

You’ll also find links to my Discord server where you can discuss robberies, and to my Instagram where you’ll occasionally see pictures of me, like one or polls. So if you’re interested, feel free to check it out.  Otherwise, there’s not much more to say. Thank you so much for your support and for watching this video.

 I hope to see you again next week. Until then, bye!