Weeping widower publicly mourned his wife after murdering her
| Published date | 07 February 2021 |
| Publication title | People, The |
Alexia's loved ones treated Daval like family, and considered him to be the perfect son-in-law, so quickly rushed to his side when tragedy struck. On 28 October 2017, he contacted police to say that Alexia had gone out jogging that Saturday morning, around 9am, and hadn't returned.
When he hadn't heard from her for a few hours, Daval is reported to have said he'd driven along her usual route but there was no sign of her. He'd alerted the authorities around noon. The French community of Gray was tightknit, with only around 5,000 residents, so it was a huge shock that one of their own was missing.
A massive search began, with dogs on the ground and helicopters circling the air, but two days later, all hope was lost. Underneath branches and foliage, Alexia's partially burned body was found in local woodland. It was far from her usual jogging route and it was no accident.
Nation in shock
A postmortem revealed that she'd been beaten and strangled to death. Alexia's murder instantly became a very high-profile case in France. Her death shocked the country at a time when the #MeToo movement - raising awareness of abuse against women - was at the forefront of everyone's mind. It also struck fear into locals who were worried about taking part in activities alone, like running or hiking. People stayed indoors fearing a predator was in their midst.
Daval joined Alexia's parents, Jean-Pierre and Isabelle Fouillot, at a national televised press conference to pay tribute to his wife and plead for information in connection to her killing. He was distraught and tearful, and the public were heartbroken for him. "She was my foremost supporter, my oxygen," he sobbed, as he stood with his in-laws. Daval looked broken by the death of his wife and would go on to wear his wedding jacket to her funeral.
As the investigation began, the French public united behind Daval and Alexia's family. Women across France honoured Alexia's memory by going on symbolic runs to highlight...
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