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Murder of Charles-Édouard Turquin

SOLVED1991Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On 21 March 1991, a veterinarian in Nice, France, Jean-Louis Turquin, telephoned the city's central police station to report that his eight-year-old son, Charles-Édouard Turquin, had vanished from their home on the heights of Nice during the night. Investigators found that none of the boy's belongings were missing, and a police-dog track ended abruptly in front of the house. Officers soon set aside the idea that the child had run away.

The Turquin marriage had been failing for years. The couple, who had met at veterinary school in 1972, were divorcing, and in January 1991 genetic testing led Jean-Louis Turquin to conclude that he was not the boy's biological father. In February 1991 he assaulted his wife with a tear-gas canister during an argument, and she left the family home. He then pressured and threatened her to return, setting an ultimatum that expired the night before the disappearance.

The boy's mother told police she suspected her husband and began recording their conversations. In late April 1991 he claimed the child was alive and being held abroad; days later, during a private meeting, he said he had killed the boy and buried him near the commune of Lucéram. At the investigating judge's urging she recorded a further conversation on 6 May 1991 in which he made additional admissions. Charged with murder, Jean-Louis Turquin was jailed on 13 May 1991, although the child's body was never found.

Released pending trial in February 1992, he printed reward posters and hired a private detective to pursue a theory that the boy had been taken to Israel; French police followed the lead abroad without result, and a man reported to be the child's biological father was found drowned near Nice in December 1993. When the trial opened in Nice in March 1997, the recorded admissions were central; the defendant said they had been a role-playing game meant to win back his wife. The prosecution sought life imprisonment, and on 21 March 1997 he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years.

Later appeals and a retrial request were rejected, most recently in 2001, and a 2003 jailhouse claim about another possible culprit was dismissed by prosecutors. Jean-Louis Turquin was granted conditional release in July 2006 and continued to assert his innocence. In January 2017 he was found shot dead at his home on the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin; his second wife, Nadine Turquin, was charged, but her indictment was overturned in 2019 and the case was dismissed in 2020. Charles-Édouard's remains have never been recovered.

Key facts

Victims
Charles-Édouard Turquin
Date
1991
Location
Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1983-04-07

    Charles-Édouard Turquin is born.

  2. 1991-01

    Genetic testing leads Jean-Louis Turquin to conclude he is not Charles-Édouard's biological father.

  3. 1991-02

    Jean-Louis Turquin assaults his wife with a tear-gas canister during an argument, and she leaves the family home.

  4. 1991-03-21

    Jean-Louis Turquin reports his son missing from their home in Nice.

  5. 1991-04-27

    Jean-Louis Turquin tells his wife he killed the boy and buried him near Lucéram.

  6. 1991-05-06

    A covertly recorded conversation captures further admissions.

  7. 1991-05-13

    Jean-Louis Turquin is charged with murder and jailed.

  8. 1992-02-14

    He is released pending trial.

  9. 1993-12-24

    A man believed to be the boy's biological father is found drowned near the old port of Nice.

  10. 1997-03-17

    The trial opens in Nice.

  11. 1997-03-21

    Jean-Louis Turquin is convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

  12. 1997-04-09

    The appeals court denies his request for release.

  13. 1999-07

    He files a request for a retrial.

  14. 2001-05-14

    The retrial request is rejected.

  15. 2006-07-11

    The Bastia Penal Enforcement Tribunal grants him conditional release.

  16. 2006-07-18

    He is freed from the Casabianda Detention Center.

  17. 2017-01-07

    Jean-Louis Turquin is found fatally shot at his home in Saint-Martin.

  18. 2019-06-21

    The Court of Appeal of Basse-Terre overturns Nadine Turquin's indictment in his death.

  19. 2020

    The investigation into Jean-Louis Turquin's death is dismissed.

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People

  • Nadine Turquin

    CHARGED

    Jean-Louis Turquin's second wife; placed under investigation and jailed in 2017 over his death. Her indictment was overturned on 21 June 2019 and the case was dismissed in 2020, clearing her.

  • Jean-Louis Turquin

    CONVICTED

    The boy's father, a Nice veterinarian; convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years on 21 March 1997, and granted conditional release in 2006. He maintained his innocence. He was later found shot dead in Saint-Martin in January 2017.

  • Charles-Édouard Turquin

    VICTIM

    Eight-year-old boy who disappeared from his father's home in Nice on 21 March 1991 and is presumed murdered; his body was never recovered.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

43.7102, 7.2620

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Eight-year-old Charles-Édouard Turquin vanished from his father's home in Nice in 1991, and his father, veterinarian Jean-Louis Turquin, was convicted of murdering him even though the boy's body was never found.
Where did the murder happen?
Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.
Who was convicted?
Jean-Louis Turquin (The boy's father, a Nice veterinarian; convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years on 21 March 1997, and granted conditional release in 2006. He maintained his innocence. He was later found shot dead in Saint-Martin in January 2017.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in France

Sources

  1. Jean-Louis Turquin casewikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. La découverte d'un crâne de petite taille relance l'affaire Turquinnews · La Provence · 2026-07-05
  3. Affaire Turquin : chronologienews · Le Nouvel Observateur · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026