No Body, No Forensic Evidence — But Couple's 6-Year-Old Saw Parents Fighting the Night Mom Vanished By KC Baker

French painter and decorator Cédric Jubillar’s trial is underway for allegedly murdering his wife Delphine Jubillar, the mother of their two children who has been missing for nearly five years.

Cédric, 38, is accused of killing Delphine, 33, and hiding her body after he allegedly found texts she had sent another man, authorities said.

Delphine, a nurse, allegedly wanted to divorce Cédric because she had grown frustrated with her husband’s inability to hold a steady job or finish the house they bought in the small town of Cagnac-les-Mines in the southern part of the country, authorities said, according to the BBC.

After a lengthy investigation, Jubillar was arrested in 2021 and charged with her murder.

Despite an exhaustive search using drones, cadaver dogs and divers, authorities have never found Delphine’s body or any other forensic evidence, The Times of London reports.

From the start, Cédric has steadfastly maintained his innocence. He claims his wife ran off on the night of Dec. 15 and 16, 2020, leaving behind their small children, 6 and 18 months, and that the case against him is circumstantial.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 16, 2020, he called police saying he couldn’t find his wife, The Times reports. He called her 185 times between 3:54 a.m. and 9:52 a.m., police said.

But prosecutors say they have enough evidence to convict him, The Times reports.

They say Delphine would never have left home without her children, according to The Times, and that they don’t believe Cédric’s claims that she ran off with a sect or ISIS. 

They also said that the Jubillars’ then-6-year-old son told police he had allegedly seen his parents yelling and fighting the night his mother vanished, The Times reports.

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His trial began Monday in Albi, about an hour northeast of Toulouse.

Spectators arrived at the courthouse in the early morning hours hoping for a seat inside at the highly-awaited trial that has captivated the nation, The Times reports. The trial is expected to last four weeks.