By Ruth Sharpe
THE INTERMEZZO, the trimaran belonging to the late André Le Floch, was lifted out of the water by a crane at Portimão Marina on August 22. Following this, police began an examination of the boat behind closed doors, in the marina grounds. Divers had previously attached a net along the bottom of the boat to make sure no evidence fell out during its transfer to Portimão.
According to the Lusa news agency, the police now believe the motive behind the murder was robbery rather than drug trafficking, as was previously suspected. They have suggested that the actions of suspects, Thierry Beille and Corinne Caspar, could have been planned and they have reason to believe that they “knew what they were doing”, however, investigators remain unsure of the motive. The intention may have been to steal, but it is thought that the overturning of the boat was accidental. One theory is that they were sailing out to sea to dispose of the body as if they had done this closer to the shore, it would have been caught in fishing nets. It is still unknown when the incident took place and how far out to sea the crew members had travelled.
A second autopsy has been carried out, confirming the results that were announced last week, which revealed that Le Floch had no water in his lungs, an indicator that he had not died from drowning, but rather inferring that his death was caused by other factors. According to the Correio da Manhã newspaper, the second autopsy identified that Le Floch had suffered from injuries to the head and marks were also found, showing he had been tied up with ropes and held down by weights.
Francisco Pagarete, the suspects lawyer, has said that neither Caspar or Beille can recall what object was used against Le Floch to cause the two injuries to his head, but maintain that there was an attempted rape by Le Floch against Caspar.
The relationship between the two suspects still remains unclear. According to Correio da Manhã newspaper, an aunt of Caspar told a news agency that Beille was the adopted brother of Corinne, however, the French Embassy has not found any documents to prove this. Corinne’s mother, Carole, has spoken to French newspaper, Le Parisien, stating that the statement was false. She said: “His parents died and left him money. He then fell in love with Corinne and, after 10 years of living together, Corinne changed; he put her under a spell. Thierry is a very disturbed man yet very intelligent. He is a manipulator and a charmer but can become very violent.” The mother is said to have discouraged her daughter from taking the journey to the Algarve, and confirmed that Corinne had taken 2,000 euros with her, intending to rent a boat. DNA tests have been carried out on Caspar and Beille, to determine their relationship. At the time of going to press, these results were unavailable.
Meanwhile, friends of Le Floch have expressed disbelief that he would try to sexually assault anyone. “He was a liked man in his community,” a friend, who wished to remain anonymous, commented.
It has been revealed that the two suspects were transported to the trimaran, two days before it was found capsized, by taxi boat company, Taximar, which left from Olhão’s commercial port. A crew member from the taxi company, João Manuel, recognised the two from a photograph shown to him by a Lusa reporter. It is said they took the boat out to sea on the afternoon of August 15, taking numerous provisions on board. Manuel claims they were accompanied by a French-speaking woman, aged between 30 and 40.
The three passengers were said to be in good spirits throughout their short journey to the Intermezzo, anchored close to the island of Armona. A man with the same description as Le Floch was said to be on board, along with three or four others, who came to greet the visitors. Manuel stated that they gave the impression that they already knew one another. Beille and Caspar have denied that they were accompanied by another woman and maintain that Le Floch was the only other person on the trimaran. The suspects have also stated that Manuel was not the man who transported them on the taxi boat, claiming it was a younger man. Police have not been able to locate the other woman Manuel described.
A further witness, Francisco Simplício, has come forward with information concerning the movements of Caspar and Beille before they boarded the Intermezzo. Simplício helped to move Caspar and Beille’s baggage onto the taxi boat, which transported the pair to the trimaran. Simplício claimed that one of the six bags of luggage that he helped to move weighed more than 50 kilos. The suspects made a joke of how heavy one of the bags was, so Simplício did not think any more of it. However, after he heard that the body of Le Floch had been held down by weights, he came forward and gave a statement to the police.
According to Correio da Manhã, the body of Le Floch was taken back to France last Thursday. No official cause of death has been publicly announced as of yet.
During their search of the Intermezzo, Portuguese police recovered the mobile phone of one of the suspects, but are still looking for the Spanish registered grey car that the couple had reportedly been travelling in.
