Controversy in France for the release of Jean-Claude Romand, a fake doctor who murdered his entire family in the 90s

Jean-Claude Romand, the fake doctor that in 1993 murdered five members of his family after lying to them about his life since 18 years and that the French writer Emmanuel Carrère immortalized in his work "The Opponent", got this Thursday the parole.

Romand, who is now 65, was sentenced to life in 1996 for the murder of his wife, two children and parentsand could have been eligible for parole since 2015, but the court had so far rejected the measure, failing to "strike the right balance between respect for the interests of society, the rights of victims and the reintegration of the convicted "

However, Romand appealed this decision and the Bourges Court of Appeal, in central France, granted him the conditional. The application of the measure is not imminent, but will take place "in the coming days" after the pbadage of Romand More than 25 years in prisonsaid his lawyer, Jean-Louis Abad.

The prosecutor's office stated in a statement that once released, you must wear an electronic ankle for two years and in the next ten years it will remain weak measures of "badistance and control".

A lie that lasted 18 years and a horrible crime

The man had made his family believe that he was a prestigious doctor who worked in Geneva for the World Health Organization (WHO) and financed their easy living standards scam all your environment, which gave him his savings with the promise of lucrative investments in Switzerland.

The lies began when Romand did not presented in second year medical exams and they have not stopped since then.

He never allowed his wife to call him to work and spent his supposed workday in a bar, the library, where he devoured medicine books to reinforce his lies, wandering through parks and forests or sitting in his car.

Romand, considered by all as a devoted husband and an attentive father, decided to kill his entire family aware that his deception was about to collapse because friends asked him to return their money. It was January 9, 1993.

This day he first beat his wife Florence to bed with a rolling pin . Then, as if nothing had happened, he sat down to have breakfast and watching television with their five and seven year old children, Antoine and Caroline in the house they had in Prévessin, a town near the Swiss border.

He took the eldest into the room, put a pillow on his head and killed him several times. He did the same thing with the youngest.

"After killing Florence, I knew that I was also going to kill Antoine and Caroline and that this moment, in front of the television, was the last we were going to spend together. I kissed you. I told them tender words, like: "I love you"", Said Romand during his trial, in 1996, according to the website France info.

Then he went to his parents, Aimé and Anne-Marie. He had lunch with them and murdered them with blows in the back. He also killed his dogbecause his daughter "loved" the pet, "so that she be with her". And he went to Paris to meet an old lover who insisted on the money he had given for a while.

He tried to kill her but his requests pushed him back and his deadly trip ended in Prévessin, where he wanted to commit suicide by ingesting barbiturates and setting his house on fire. He scattered two boxes of naphtha in the attic and on the bodies of his children and his wife and lay beside her. However the intervention of the firefighters failed his plan. They found him unconscious.

After being arrested, Romand finally confessed to the crimes. "I'm a monster," he told investigators. "I've killed everyone I love but it's finally me," he said during the trial.

The writer Carrère and he communicated by letter for years and met in person once. The result of these exchanges and the conclusions of the court gave birth to the book "The Adversary" (2000), a commercial success which retraces the life and try to dive in their motivations.

According to the prosecutor's office, when he walks in the street, Romand must live in a place authorized by the court and not come into contact with relatives.

Among the other requirements, which until now was one of France's most famous prisoners, veto "all communications with the media" on the crimes for which he has been sentenced and must undergo medical examinations or treatments deemed appropriate.