Ghylaine Bouchait
Murdered on Friday, September 22, 2017
She was 34 years old
Ghylaine was the youngest of a sibling group of four children. Cheerful and playful, she loved teasing her brothers and sisters (who gave it right back to her). Nine years separated her from her older sister, Sandrine. Over time, as maturity narrowed the age gap, an unbreakable bond of immense love and complicity formed between the two.
In 2007, Ghylaine met Christophe, a charming young man she encountered on a Saturday night at a nightclub. Their story was as lovely as it was classic. They dated for a year, moved in together, and soon welcomed little Cloé, the fruit of their love.
Like many couples, daily life put their relationship to the test. A child, professional doubts, all of it wore them down, frustrated them until the day Ghylaine decided to end their relationship. At that moment, Christophe's behavior seemed excessive to her, as she aspired to a more joyful, lighter existence. Surveillance, questions, threats, and blackmail weighed on her. She no longer wanted to be exposed to it. She also didn’t want to destroy the father of her daughter and chose to take it slowly to give him time to accept.
But Christophe didn’t accept. In silence, anger built up every day, dark thoughts too, until that fateful night when a dispute broke out, and his violence unleashed. Ghylaine screamed for help. No one moved in the building. The little girl begged her father to stop. He remained deaf to her pleas. He doused Ghylaine in gasoline, set fire to her body in front of 7-year-old Cloé. "Daddy wanted to kill mommy," she explained. Ghylaine, burned at 92%, died two days later from her injuries while Sandrine promised to watch over her daughter.
In 2019, Sandrine Bouchait founded the National Union of Femicide Families (UNFF), whose main demand was the creation of a victim status for surviving children.
The murderer was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and parental authority was revoked from him.
Courtesy of the family of Ghylaine Bouchait