Philippe S. : the murderous “druid”

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while, I know and I apologize.

I humbly come back to tell about a recent case that, though it didn’t attract much attention, shocked me by its absurdity. I tried my best to collect as much information about it as possible, but some sources contradict each other, so I apologize in advance for any corrections I would need to make in the future.

Without further ado, here’s the case of the murder of Georges Meichler.

Just a guy

We don’t know much about the victim, Georges Meichler. He was in his sixties, and was nicknamed “Diego”. He lived in the Brasc woods, near Avignon, in southern France.

He lived a modest life, in a house without running water or electricity. We know that he had at least one daughter, who he didn’t talk to often. We don’t know anything about his personality, he was probably not the best guy, but he probably wasn’t the worst either. He was just a guy.

The killers

Let’s start with the leader.

Philippe Schneider was 55 or more in 2023 (sources differ). He had lived in different places before settling down in the Aveyron province, notably northern France and even the UK, working as a cook in different and sometimes prestigious restaurants. However, that doesn’t mean he was a good guy. I even doubt he was even mentally sane.

He’s described as eager to dominate others, and wherever he lived you’ll a find at least one former girlfriend that he has traumatized. Infidelity, forced sexual encounters, drug dealing, physical violence…

I won’t call him a pig, because pigs are useful and don’t pretend to be anything else than what they actually are. Two very low standards that Philippe never managed to reach, even in his professional life. After he left his actual job, he presented himself as a photograph (he wasn’t) and a “therapeutic plants” seller (he was a marijuana and aphrodisiacs dealer) to his girlfriends while he lived on their dime and ignored the three children he had fathered throughout the years.

Faced with this kind of man, one would expect a criminal record reflecting his filth and mediocrity, but he had surprisingly only been arrested for drug possession and driving without a license when he arrived in the Aveyron province.

He didn’t arrive there alone. He was accompanied by his latest girlfriend and future accomplice, Nathalie Caboubassy. To her, he was a pizza cook before going back to “therapeutic plants”. Even though he was just as violent with her as he was in his previous relationships, she followed him when he decided to move to Plaisance in March 2019, in what we call an “eco-village” (which can be defined as a self-sufficient town or village focused on ecology).

On their arrival, Philippe introduced himself as a “druid”. It’s not this absurd declaration that got his expelled from the village, but his violence.

The couple ends up moving in a rent-controlled apartment in Camarès, where Philippe’s presence is better tolerated. 4 years passed, during which they met Georges, their future victim, and Loup Benrakia, their future accomplice. We don’t know much about the latter, a young former gravedigger, except that he’s described as very impressionable and…well, not very smart.

The murder

The circumstances leading up to Georges’ murder are still unclear, but we know that Philippe wanted to rob him and steal money and marijuana from the man he said was like a brother to him. He also told Loup that Georges had sexually assaulted an ex-girlfriend’s daughter, in addition to offering him money (of course). Nathalie got in on the scheme as well, even though her goal and expectations are unknown.

Between the 27th and the 30th of January 2023, the trio went to Georges’ home with ropes, duct tape and gloves. The sexagenarian was bound and gagged before being forced to give his money and credit card pin number. The trio declared later that they didn’t intend on hurting him, but Georges still died during the robbery, and was found by Loup.

Faced with this apparently unexpected turn of events, the three now murderers decided to smoke marijuana before deciding what they would do (because everyone knows that the best decisions are taken intoxicated).

Nathalie then left the two men, who wrapped up Georges’ body in a quilt and put in a big bag. They transported it to a field that belonged to Philippe and waited two to three days, to “respect the soul’s migration” according to the “druid”. This so-called respect doesn’t stop them from dismembering the body and burning some parts on the field.

The rest was taken back to Georges’ house and placed in pots of boiling water with some vegetables and herbs. According to the barbaric duo, this was done to cover the smell and accelerate cremation (please don’t ask me how, I’m as lost as you on this). Eventually, two fires were lit and what was left of the body was incinerated while Philippe prayed for his victim’s “salvation”.

Loup declared later that he was terrified during the whole process, afraid that Philippe would turn on him and kill him.

The ludicrous attempt at a cover-up

In the days following the cremation of Georges’ body, the trio spent their victim’s money and drove his van around, telling everyone that Georges had gone on a trip and asked them to feed his animals. They also sent texts from his phone, telling the same thing to his friends and relatives. However, this sudden change in “Georges”’s behavior and habits did more harm than good. Worried about his sudden “departure” and following silence, Georges’ ex-wife alerted the authorities on February 5th.

After verifying Georges’ absence, the gendarmes entered his house and were met with a horrible smell and evidence of fires being lit. Intrigued, they continued their investigation, notably with a search of Georges’ van, in which they ended up finding body parts in trash bags.

The trio was arrested on February 10th and Philippe rapidly started confessing, saying that was he was about to say was “hard to hear”. Hard to hear, but not hard to do, apparently…

The trial

The murderous trio’s trial started on May 19th, 2025. Philippe was indicted for illegal confinement followed by death, as well as concealment and defilement of a dead body. Nathalie and Loup were indicted as accomplices in these crimes.

While in detention, Philippe said to a psychology expert: “I had to cut the body up, you can’t understand how much I suffered”. Even for a narcissistic murderer, this sentence is insane.

On the first day of the trial, he still expressed regrets, which we don’t know if they were about the victim or him having to suffer the consequences of his actions.

In the end, Philippe was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison, while Nathalie got 13 and 6 years of imprisonment. The two accomplices thus have a chance to repent. The “druid”, however, will be around 80 years old by the time he gets out, and will probably only be able to spend the rest of his days waiting for his life to end. Still, I don’t know if that’s enough.

Do you think the trio’s sentences were just? Tell me down below, or on r/Murder_Wine_Cheese. You can also follow me on Bluesky and Instagram if you want. I hope you’ll find some money on the ground today, and I’ll see you next time!