DNA Breakthrough Prompts Reopening of Infamous 1994 French Murder Case

The investigating commission has finally accepted the Moroccan’s request, ordering additional information in the file.

This reopening was made possible thanks to advances in DNA science and especially a law passed in June 2014, which relaxes the criteria for obtaining a retrial.

Convicted in February 1994 of the murder of his employer, Ghislaine Marchal, the Moroccan had been sentenced to 18 years in prison. He had been found guilty because of the inscription "Omar m’a tuer" (Omar killed me), traced with the victim’s blood at the crime scene.

Convicted without the possibility of appeal at the time, Omar Raddad had benefited from a partial pardon from President Jacques Chirac following an intervention by King Hassan II, then a conditional release in 1998. This pardon does not amount to an annulment of the conviction and does not exonerate him.