Danielle Doyonnas and Patrick Sarrasin, a murderous passion

Hi guys, I hope you’re doing good. Today’s case looks like something we’ve sadly seen before: a couple that doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice innocents to live their life in tranquility and comfort. However, some elements make this couple’s dynamic a bit unusual, but I’ll let you form your own opinion. Without further ado, here’s the Sarrasin-Doyonnas case, also known as the Pink Minitel case.

Danielle and Gilles: a marriage hitting its expiration date

Our case begins in Nurieux-Volognat, a small village near the Swiss border. Danielle Doyonnas, a young woman in her 30s, lives in a house with her husband Gilles and their three children. She takes care of the family while Gilles, a hard worker, spends a lot of time outside managing his car repair business.

This seems like a simple, comfortable life for many, but it’s not enough for Danielle. She starts looking for a thrill on the Pink Minitel.

Minitel

Now, let me take some time to explain what the Minitel was, since it’s a relic from ancient times. Long story short, it’s a PC’s ancestor: a terminal looking like a computer allowing people to access diverse services, including chatrooms.

And among these chatrooms, we have more…adult spaces, which were called “pink chatrooms”. They were made for adults looking to have spicy encounters. This side of the Internet’s dad was called the Pink Minitel.

Fun fact: one of France’s telecom moguls, Xavier Niel, made his first millions offering Pink Minitel services. You gotta start somewhere right?

Back to our case.

Danielle starts meeting people on the Pink Minitel, and living some torrid affairs. She spends more and more time out of the house, cares about her appearance and changes her behavior. It doesn’t take long before Gilles notices and starts his own affairs, notably with the babysitter and her 17-year-old sister.

As the cheating goes on, Danielle meets Patrick Sarrasin, a sweet talker in his 40s, and start a deeper relationship.

Patrick is unemployed, but tells her that he makes a living thanks to motorcycle races (whatever that means). He also tells her that he’s a martial arts expert (he’s not). On the other hand, Danielle tells him that Gilles is far from a perfect husband, and that he’s even violent with her. This declaration, the general unraveling of the marriage and the existence of a life insurance soon seal Gilles’ fate.

Stubborn killers

Danielle and Patrick only know each other for a month when they decide to murder Gilles.

Their first attempt fails. Danielle puts sedatives in Gilles’ whisky. Once he’s weakened, Patrick appears and hits him in the head with a metal pipe. The couple puts him in his own car, and drive to the edge of a cliff. They try to push the car over, but it gets stuck at the last second. When Gilles wakes up, the car is dangling over. He survives and goes home, but he talks to nobody except his father about the incident.

Danielle and Patrick aren’t deterred by Gilles’ luck. They try to kill him again, but this time he wakes up earlier than planned and sees them. Patrick pretends to be a maniac that has kidnapped Gilles and Danielle, and even pretends to rape and kidnap Danielle, who only reappears two days later. Despite all of that, Gilles doesn’t go to the authorities.

The murderous couple’s third attempt is less complex. As Gilles is working in his garage, Patrick hides in a bush and shoots him from a distance. However, Gilles crouches at the last second and the bullet ends up lodged in the wall. This is Gilles’ last chance to get the authorities involved, but he tragically doesn’t.

Early July 1994. Danielle drugs her husband again, and waits for him to go to bed. Once Gilles is asleep, Patrick gets in the bedroom, puts a pillow over his head and shoots him in the ear canal (less blood and wound harder to identify). Danielle then helps Patrick load her husband’s body into his own car, and the twisted lovers drive to the cliff. They put the body at the wheel, and they push the car. This time, it falls, and Gilles joins the list of spouses who died without ever knowing what they did wrong.

When his body is found, the investigators think it’s a drunk driving accident, even though his family has doubts after they see a bump at the back of Gilles’ head despite the car having a frontal impact. They immediately suspect Danielle and forbid her from attending the funeral. They don’t press charges though, so Gilles’ death stays an accident in the eyes of the law.

A short-lived comfort

After Gilles’ death, Danielle and Patrick live a short moment of bliss.

They get Gilles’ life insurance, which amounts to 100,000 francs (equivalent to 24,717€, or 29,027 american dollars). Patrick moves into the house, and the couple regularly meets other swingers.

Sadly for them, the party ends early. The money runs out pretty quickly, and the two lovers don’t work, so they end up on welfare.

We will never know who is the first who suggests the second murder, but we know that financial desperation pushes them to action.

Sébastien: wrong place, wrong time, wrong people

The murderous couple decides to use the Pink Minitel again, not to find lovers this time, but to find a victim.

The tragically unlucky guy is Sébastien Faisant, a 24-year-old fashion student. He’s described as a nice and helpful young man, and works at a sex shop to finance his studies. He’s often on the Pink Minitel to satisfy his sexual curiosity, and that’s where he meets Danielle, who goes by Chantal online (Patrick, on other hand, goes by Bruno). They plan a first meetup, but Sébastien doesn’t make it because of car trouble.

He sadly makes it to the second meetup in the night of October 14th, 1995. He sits with Danielle in the Montagnat woods, and accepts a sexual domination game where Danielle handcuffs him. Once he’s incapacitated, Patrick appears. He has a gun, and threatens Sébastien to get him to give up his two debit cards with the pin codes. Sébastien obeys, but that doesn’t save his life. Patrick shoots him three times and slits his throat.

The couple doesn’t stop at Sébastien’s debit cards. They also take 100 francs (about 30USD) from his wallet. They find porn tapes in the trunk of his car, and take that too. They go to several ATMs on their way home, but Sébastien gave them the wrong codes. In the end, they killed an innocent man for barely enough money for a dinner date. That doesn’t dampen their mood though. After getting home, they watch the porn tapes and have sex before going to sleep like nothing happened. The next day, they invite a couple for a sexual escapade. Their life goes on, while Sébastien’s is gone.

The crime left traces

This time, the couple doesn’t get away with it for as long as they did for Gilles’ murder.

Sébastien’s body is found the morning after his murder, and the investigators find a piece of paper on him with the names Bruno and Chantal written on it. Sébastien’s brother also tells them that “Chantal” had called their house when Sébastien didn’t make it to their first date.

The investigators quickly get Sébastien’s Minitel connection history and manage to identify Danielle and Patrick. The couple is placed under surveillance.

On October 26th, 1995, the gendarmes wait for Danielle’s children to go to school, and execute a search warrant. The house is searched, and investigators find Sébastien’s tapes, a gun, ammunition, a knife, and bloody handcuffs.

The two lovers are arrested, separated and interrogated. Danielle is the first to confess, but assures the investigators that Patrick made her do it. On the other hand, Patrick is colder when he confesses, very matter-of-fact. He even says that he wanted to kill another person for money, but Danielle dissuaded him.

After these confessions, the couple is indicted and placed in detention, while the investigators finally start asking questions about Gilles Doyonnas’ death.

Danielle’s husband’s body is exhumed, and the bullet that killed him is found in his skull. The couple is taken out of their cells for interogation and doesn’t take long before confessing to this murder and being indicted again.

During their detention, Danielle and Patrick’s relationship deteriorates rapidly. Patrick writes a lot to Danielle, professing his love and telling her that everything he did was for her. She doesn’t respond, and ignores him when investigators put them in the same room.

The trial

The murderous lovers’ trial starts on November 30th, 1999.

Danielle’s defense is clear: she was manipulated by Patrick, who the psychological experts describe as a narcissist.

On the other side of the defendant booth, Patrick’s defense explains that he felt like he had a mission after hearing about Gilles’ behavior toward Danielle.

The latter seems to win this judicial duel. Danielle is sentenced to 30 years in prison for two counts of being an accomplice in a first-degree murder, while Patrick is sentenced to 20 years to life for two counts of first-degree murder.

While the judges recognized Danielle’s active participation in the crimes, I think that the extent of this participation is larger that what most people think. Yes, she looks like a nice little housewife that got manipulated and made to bait men to their death. However, she never tried to report Patrick to the authorities, very actively played her part in Sébastien’s murder, and even manages to dissuade Patrick from committing another murder. All of this shows that her influence in the murderous duo was probably greater than what first meets the eye, leaving us with questions that will never get answers.

Regarding the two killers, there aren’t in prison anymore. Patrick works on a rehabilitation farm in Northern France, while Danielle is free as a bird.

Do you think the couple’s sentences were just? Who do you think was the dominant one in the duo? Tell me down below, or on r/Murder_Wine_Cheese or on Bluesky. I hope you’ll find some money on the ground today, and I’ll see you next time!