Investigation into Lyhanna's death

Since the death of Lyhanna, an 11-year-old girl, investigators are examining what her mother, the wife of Jérôme Barella, who is under investigation for her murder, may have known.

New details from Le Parisien

According to an exclusive investigation by Le Parisien, published on October 31, the gendarmes are revisiting her interrogations and several episodes that raise questions about her awareness. The suspicions targeting Jérôme Barella had begun long before Lyhanna's disappearance.

Previous allegations against Barella

In October 2022, a 9-year-old girl reported a rape that may have occurred several months earlier at the home of the couple in Montestruc-sur-Gers. In a text provided to the police, the girl described having dinner with the family before falling asleep in front of a movie. Upon waking, she said she found herself "on Jérôme" and described the sexual violence she claimed to have suffered. She also indicated that the wife of Jérôme Barella had gone to bed after dinner.

Other concerns about Barella

This accusation was not the only alert around Jérôme Barella. According to Le Parisien, a mother had forbidden him from approaching her daughter. A child had also called him a "psychopath," while a conflict had erupted with the mother of another girl who would later file a complaint. However, when the gendarmes questioned her husband in 2024 about the possibility that he could have harmed the first girl, her answer was categorical: "No, I have no doubt about that." She said, "I really thought he had done nothing."

Revisiting past events

After Lyhanna's disappearance, investigators are revisiting these different episodes. They are particularly interested in the sleepover parties organized at the couple's home. The wife admits that she sometimes went to bed while Jérôme Barella remained downstairs with the girls. She nevertheless insists she had no suspicions. "I trusted him, I did not doubt," she explains to the investigators, according to Le Parisien. She emphasizes: "I really thought he had done nothing." It is this discrepancy that the gendarmes are now trying to understand: how had she interpreted the various alerts concerning her husband? Had she really been convinced of his innocence or had certain elements raised her suspicions?

Change in the wife's perspective

She now refers to him as a "monster." Since the arrest of Jérôme Barella, her view of him has radically changed. His wife now calls him a "monster" and says she feels "hatred and disgust" towards him. She also claims to have suffered violence within the couple and has filed a complaint against her husband for rapes and domestic violence. A separate investigation has been opened. A psychological expertise has also looked into the mechanisms of control that may have existed in their relationship. The investigations now need to determine what this mother actually knew before the Lyhanna case. Jérôme Barella remains presumed innocent of the facts for which he has not yet been definitively convicted.