DNA Analysis Confirms: Found Bones Belong to Delphine Aussaguel

Mailhoc – 21 July 2026: A field in northern Tarn has become the site of a certainty for which the family had waited for years. The Toulouse public prosecutor general’s office has confirmed that the bone remains found near Mailhoc on 16 July belonged to Delphine Aussaguel. The DNA analyses were carried out by the Gendarmerie’s Criminal Research Institute, IRCGN, in Pontoise.

Delphine Aussaguel, known as Delphine Jubillar, disappeared from her home in Cagnac-les-Mines near Albi during the night of 16 December 2020. The then 33-year-old nurse and mother of two had been missing for more than five and a half years. For her relatives, the identification now represents a painful but crucial step out of uncertainty.

The Gendarmerie searched the area along the road between Mailhoc and Villeneuve-sur-Vere on 16 and 17 July with a major deployment. Around 100 personnel took part. According to the judiciary, information provided by Cedric Jubillar led investigators to the location. The recovered items were then taken to Pontoise for forensic examination.

Cedric Jubillar was sentenced to 30 years in prison in October 2025 for the murder of his wife; he has appealed the verdict. At the beginning of July, his new defense lawyers stated that their client had admitted responsibility for Delphine Aussaguel’s death. The precise legal and factual significance of these statements remains the subject of proceedings.

The DNA confirmation does not bring the case to a close. Investigators and forensic experts must still determine what further traces are present at the discovery site and whether they can provide conclusions about the cause of death or the course of the crime. The judiciary has not yet commented in detail on possible further discoveries or the ongoing expert examinations.

The appeal trial could also be affected by the new evidence. The hearing before the Haute-Garonne Assize Court in Toulouse is currently scheduled to begin on 21 September 2026. According to media reports, the defense has considered a postponement necessary in order to assess the new situation. The presiding judge will decide on any possible change of date.

For the siblings and other relatives of Delphine Aussaguel, procedural law is not the immediate priority. Their lawyer, Laurent de Caunes, said that the family remained united in its grief and would closely follow the judiciary’s next steps. After years of public speculation, the identification offers no simple relief, but it gives the loss a documented place and name.