The Murder of Delphine Jubillar

For more than five years, the Delphine Jubillar case was defined by an extraordinary contradiction: French courts concluded that Delphine had been murdered even though investigators had not found her body and the man convicted of killing her continued to deny responsibility. That changed in July 2026. Cédric Jubillar admitted killing his wife, described where he had hidden her body and guided investigators to a site where human remains were recovered. DNA analysis by the French gendarmerie's forensic institute confirmed that the remains belonged to Delphine Aussaguel.

Delphine's disappearance

Delphine Jubillar disappeared during the night of December 15 to 16, 2020, from the family home in Cagnac-les-Mines in the Tarn department of southern France. She was 33, worked as a nurse and was the mother of two young children.

The disappearance prompted extensive searches and a long criminal investigation. Delphine left behind personal belongings and her children. Investigators focused increasingly on Cédric Jubillar as they reconstructed the final known hours inside and around the home.

The investigation and prosecution

Cédric Jubillar was placed in pretrial detention in June 2021. For years he denied killing Delphine. Prosecutors nevertheless built a circumstantial case around the couple's deteriorating relationship, evidence from the home, telephone activity, witness accounts and statements attributed to Jubillar during the investigation.

The distinction is important: before the first trial there was no recovered body, no identified crime scene supported by direct forensic evidence and no confession accepted by Jubillar. The prosecution therefore asked jurors and professional judges to evaluate a body of circumstantial evidence rather than a single decisive physical exhibit.

The 2025 trial

The Tarn assize court in Albi tried Cédric Jubillar in September and October 2025. On October 17, the court found him guilty of murdering Delphine and sentenced him to 30 years' imprisonment. The written reasoning released days later said the court considered Delphine's death established beyond doubt and concluded that her husband was responsible.

At that stage, Jubillar still denied the crime. His lawyers announced an appeal, meaning the conviction was adjudicated but not yet final. Under French procedure, an appeal from an assize-court conviction results in a new trial rather than a narrow review limited to points of law.

The 2026 confession

On July 15, 2026, while the appeal process was pending, Cédric Jubillar admitted before an official of the Toulouse appeals court that he had killed Delphine during the night she disappeared. Reporting on the judicial statement described him as also explaining how he transported and concealed her body.

The confession materially changed the evidentiary posture of the case, but this file does not treat every detail in Jubillar's narrative as independently proved merely because he said it. A confession is evidence; physical recovery and forensic testing provided separate confirmation of a central part of his account.

Recovery and identification of Delphine's remains

After the confession, Jubillar indicated a location in the Tarn countryside. Investigators searched an agricultural area near Mailhoc and recovered human remains on July 16, 2026. The material was transferred to the Institut de recherche criminelle de la gendarmerie nationale (IRCGN) for forensic examination.

On July 19, the Toulouse prosecutor general announced that DNA analysis had confirmed the remains were those of Delphine Aussaguel. The identification ended the uncertainty over where Delphine had been left and gave her family a confirmed recovery after more than five years.

What remains legally open

The first-instance conviction remains a real judicial finding: Cédric Jubillar was found guilty of murder and received a 30-year sentence in October 2025. But he appealed that judgment. His later confession and the recovery of Delphine's remains prompted additional investigation and affected the timetable for the appeal proceedings.

For that reason, the status here is Adjudicated / Appeal Pending, not “final judgment.” The site distinguishes the existing conviction from the still-open appellate process and does not imply that the appeal has already been decided.

Timeline

1. December 15–16, 2020
   Delphine disappears

   Delphine Jubillar vanishes from the family home in Cagnac-les-Mines.

2. June 2021
   Cédric Jubillar detained

   Investigators place Delphine's husband in pretrial detention as the murder inquiry focuses on him.

3. September 22, 2025
   Trial begins

   The Tarn assize court begins hearing the murder case in Albi.

4. October 17, 2025
   Guilty verdict

   Cédric Jubillar is convicted of murdering Delphine and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His defense announces an appeal.

5. July 15, 2026
   Confession

   Jubillar admits killing Delphine and gives authorities information about where he concealed her body.

6. July 16, 2026
   Human remains recovered

   Investigators searching the area indicated by Jubillar recover remains near Mailhoc in the Tarn.

7. July 19, 2026
   DNA identification

   The prosecutor general announces that IRCGN testing has confirmed the remains belong to Delphine Aussaguel.

Current status

Adjudicated / appeal pending. Cédric Jubillar was convicted of Delphine Jubillar's murder and sentenced to 30 years in October 2025. His appeal remained pending after his July 2026 confession and the forensic identification of Delphine's remains.