Jean-Claude Romand, the Frenchman who murdered his family and who inspired a novel by Emmanuel Carrère, came out

Jean-Claude Romand, a Frenchman who murdered his entire family after claiming to be a prestigious doctor for two decades, a case that inspired films and romance, obtained parole after 26 years in prison.

"He was released on parole," his lawyer, Jean-Louis Abad, told AFP. His release is "imminent, but it certainly will not be the case today," added the lawyer, following a ruling by the Bourges Court of Appeal (center). ).

Jean-Claude Romand he shot his parents and two children in 1993 and his wife was beaten while they were going to discover that he was an impostor.

Romand had pretended for more than a decade to work for the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) as a renowned physician and researcher.

He financed his lifestyle with the money that had been entrusted to him by his relatives and friends, to whom he made believe that he had invested his savings in Switzerland.

Accused by several debtors, some of whom had discovered his sham, the fake doctor, then aged 38, decided to kill his entire family.

He killed his wife with a rolling pin and her children, ages 7 and 5, shooting them in the back with a rifle. Then he went to his parents' house and killed them by shooting several bullets in the back.

The next day, he set his house on fire and attempted to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills. He was found unconscious by firefighters.

Romand, now 65, has to wear an electronic bracelet for two years and live in a place approved by the judiciary.

"It's a big disappointment for my clients and a great pain, they feel that everything is over for Mr. Romand, but that will never end for them," said Laure Moureu, lawyer for Florence's two brothers, the woman from Romand. .

His case was the subject of a fascination in France. Inspired by the novel "The Opponent" from Emmanuel Carrère it was brought to the big screen in 2002, in a film by Nicole García featuring the famous French actor Daniel Auteuil.

This case also inspired the film by French director Laurent Cantet, "The Timeline", which was very well received in 2001.