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The disappearance of Ophélie Bretnacher, a French student, was a complex criminal, and diplomatic affair between France and Hungary.
Contents
Ophélie Bretnacher, disappeared in Budapest, Hungary on December 4, 2008. She was part of the European exchange program known as the Erasmus Programme City security cameras tracked part of her route after leaving a night club. Her bag and cell phone were later found on the Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lanchid).
Her friends and family used several methods to attempt to find her, an official investigation was opened in Hungary and was soon followed by one in France.
Political and diplomatic consequences
An online affidavit has been signed by over 10,000 people and was sent to the French President.
On January 11, 2009, several hundred people marched silently in a white march, from the Champ-de-Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, to seek involvement of the French State.
In the French Government, Catherine Vautrin, the Vice-Président of the National Assembly asked for a French intervention Following this intervention, French investigators were sent for the second time to Hungary.
The criminal case
Her body was discovered in Csepel, in February 2009, in a backwater of the Danube. She probably drowned. The police said that death was probably the result of a suicide or accident. However, homicide cannot be ruled out because of the finding of an hematoma on Ophelie's body as well as many gray areas during the search.
In February 2010, her family filed a new claim for murder.
In March 2010, a judicial inquiry was opened in Paris for kidnapping, sequestration, followed by murder.
Conclusion
This affair is classed in Hungary in 2014.