Analyses confirm: Bones found in Mailhoc identified as Delphine Aussaguel’s

Mailhoc – 19/07/2026: A field in the north of the Tarn department has become the site of a certainty for which relatives and investigators have waited more than five and a half years. Examinations by the French Gendarmerie’s Institute of Criminal Research have confirmed that the bones recovered near Mailhoc can be attributed to Delphine Aussaguel. The 33-year-old nurse disappeared from Cagnac-les-Mines on the night of 16 December 2020.

The remains were found on 16 July on agricultural land near the road to Cordes-sur-Ciel. The site is around ten kilometres from the couple’s former home in Cagnac-les-Mines. Gendarmes searched the area following information provided by Cédric Jubillar. Initially, reports referred to bones whose human origin and identity were to be determined through laboratory work.

That work has now been completed on a key point. The genetic identification ends the uncertainty over the identity of the deceased, but not the criminal investigation. Specialists are continuing to examine whether the recovered bones contain traces that could provide conclusions about injuries, the time of death or the circumstances of the death. Whether such questions can still be answered remains unclear.

The search operation on 16 and 17 July brought numerous Gendarmerie personnel, Toulouse’s research division, institute specialists and dog units to the quiet countryside between Mailhoc and Villeneuve-sur-Vère. Investigators searched for further fragments and possible items of relevance to the proceedings. Once this work was completed, the operation at the field was initially brought to an end.

In October 2025, Cédric Jubillar was sentenced by the Tarn Assize Court to 30 years in prison for the murder of Delphine Aussaguel. The case is under appeal. According to the Toulouse public prosecutor general’s office, in early July 2026 he admitted responsibility for his wife’s death and gave investigators information on where he had left her body.

The new findings change the evidentiary situation, but do not replace further judicial review. Statements by an accused person, forensic evidence and expert assessments must be brought together in the proceedings. The defence had denied any intention to kill Delphine Aussaguel and offered a different assessment of the sequence of events. Only the competent court will decide the legal consequences.

For the family, the scientific confirmation above all means the end of a tormenting question. It gives the disappearance a tangible, yet deeply painful conclusion. The case, which has occupied France for years, nevertheless remains criminal proceedings: the outstanding expert examinations are intended to clarify what the bones can reveal about Delphine Aussaguel’s final hours.