French court annuls Dany Leprince's life sentence for 1994 quadruple murder, orders new trial

The court's decision

The Court of Revision, sitting within the Court of Cassation in Paris, annulled the life imprisonment sentence of Dany Leprince on Thursday 2 July 2026. The ruling is only the 13th time a criminal conviction has been overturned by this body since 1945. Leprince, now 69, had been convicted in 1997 of the quadruple murder of his brother Christian, sister-in-law Brigitte, and nieces Sandra (10) and Audrey (6) in the Sarthe village of Thorigné-sur-Dué on the night of 4 September 1994.

The court found that two key elements of the original prosecution case had been "weakened by elements unknown to the jurisdiction" at the time, according to its president, Nicolas Bonnal. Leprince, who served 18 years behind bars before his conditional release, is now presumed innocent and will face a new trial before the cour d'assises of Maine-et-Loire, likely in Angers.

The case background

Known in the press as "the butcher of the Sarthe" (a nickname he detests, as his job was packaging minced steaks, not slaughtering), Leprince was implicated by his then-wife Martine Compain and her daughter Célia. He confessed after 46 hours in custody but quickly retracted, claiming the admission was coerced. Over the following decades, his lawyers uncovered inconsistencies in witness statements, concerns about the influence of a gendarme's spouse who acted as the surviving child's childminder, and conflicting footwear and DNA evidence.

The house of cards that was the accusation against Dany Leprince is totally collapsing.

Morice, alongside co-counsel Missiva Chermak-Felonneau, has represented Leprince since 2018. He called Thursday's ruling "historic."

A surviving child's doubts

Central to the revision was the testimony of Solène Leprince, the only survivor of the attack, who was just two years old at the time. Once considered a witness for the prosecution, Solène now believes she was influenced by adult conversations in her early childhood. Speaking to the Court of Revision on 7 May 2026, she said:

I am devastated to have lost my parents and sisters, but also angry that there are still gray areas today.

The court also noted that the alleged memory lapses of Martine Compain, who described the exact sequence of events on the fatal evening, could be a "simulation," as a later expert assessment found no underlying memory deficit. Compain has been under the status of assisted witness since 2024 in a separate judicial investigation prompted by a complaint from the father of Leprince's sons.

We have no reason to fear that she is implicated in this case. The Court of Revision does not say Dany Leprince is innocent but that a doubt exists. The new trial will set things straight; it does not mean Martine Compain is guilty.

Leprince speaks

Appearing on BFMTV hours after the ruling, a visibly exhausted Leprince said he felt no anger, only determination. "I am a bit tired, I am moved. I don't realize it yet, it's a great milestone," he said, adding:

I don't spend my time being angry at people who didn't do their job. You mustn't think about those years, it's pointless.

He stressed that he had always believed in justice and would continue his fight to learn who truly killed his brother. "I will not give up, and besides, I have never given up in 30 years," he said, noting that he had long had an idea of the murderer's identity without naming them.