01x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

[in Italian]
Teresa, this is Luisa.

[Birgit] Earlier that year,
in May '78, I had acted in a movie.

That movie was released
right while my brother was in agony.

They were showing
me newspaper articles

claiming I was taking advantage
of the publicity

and of my brother's tragedy
to boost my career.

I AM LOOKING FOR
JUSTICE, NOT FAME

I said, "I'll show you that my brother
is much more important than my career."

"I'm prepared to quit everything
and stop accepting offers."

[suspenseful music playing]

THE PRESS
SPEAKS OF MADNESS

[man] You said,

"I'm portrayed as a monster,
and I find it hard to defend myself."

From what, though?

From journalists.
From the press.

HIS MAJESTY IN SAINT-MORITZ.
A MOTHER YELLS m*rder*r!

I am the unmentionable, the villain,
let's say, the monster.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT!

[in English] There's a "before Cavallo"
and an "after Cavallo."

[upbeat music playing]

THE KING WHO NEVER WAS

[crown rattling]

[airplane whirring]

[g*n fires]

[upbeat music continues]

[handcuffs clicking]

[cameras clicking]

[music fades]

[somber music playing]

[radio tuning]

DECEMBER 8, 1978

[reporter in Italian] Vittorio Emanuele
of Savoy, no longer had to report

to the French police.

So he decided to take shelter
in Switzerland.

After Mr. Hamer's death,
Savoy's position has worsened,

and the "sh**ting prince,"
as the French press referred to him,

now faces up to
20 years in jail.

[somber music continues]

[Vittorio in French] I
declared that I will fully cooperate

with the French judiciary,
in which I have complete trust,

to ascertain the truth about this tragedy
which resulted in the death

of the brave Dirk Hamer,
whose memory I would like to honor.

[somber music continues]

[in English] One day, I was at school
and someone, a young girl…

EMANUELE FILIBERTO OF SAVOY
SON OF VITTORIO EMANUELE

…said, "Look, this is
the m*rder*r's son."

Things like that,
gradually, over time…

affect you.

[action music playing]

[in Italian] Ten days have passed
since Dirk Hamer's death.

The French judiciary is still deciding
whether to revoke probation,

which had been granted
a day before the death of the man,

to Vittorio Emanuele,
who is currently in Switzerland.

THEY LET VITTORIO
EMANUELE ESCAPE

[Sigrid Hamer] We demand justice.
We want my son's k*ller in prison.

DECEMBER 19, 1978

Because he took a weapon
and he k*lled someone.

He didn't mean to k*ll my son
but Nicky Pende.

However, my son was k*lled.
He is dead now.

- I demand justice.
- [man] You wrote a telegram...

I asked Judge Breton,
from the island of Corsica,

to immediately arrest the prince,
who is now hiding in Switzerland,

so that we can have
a good Christmas.

[ominous music playing]

[man in English] My name is Bernd,
and I'm Dirk's younger brother.

I'm younger than him.

BERND HAMER
DIRK HAMER'S BROTHER

At first, we were confused
about what was unfolding.

"How come nothing is happening?"
we wondered.

We gradually came to the conclusion
that none of that was a coincidence.

- [eerie music playing]
- [radio tuning]

[Birgit in French] So far,

no one has had a chance
to testify in Ajaccio.

Until recently, Judge Hubert Breton
has always claimed he was on vacation.

[eerie music continues]

[in English] There was no investigation
in sight. Not even a glimpse.

Neither the authorities,
nor the police…

Nobody was looking
into anything at the time.

There was just a lot
of emotional turmoil,

and then, believe me, people were scared
on the beaches of Cavallo.

[suspenseful music playing]

PORT OF CAVALLO

[Ercole] There was
almost a sense of fear

because, at the end of the day,
we were dealing with someone who was…

UMBERTO ERCOLE
WITNESS

…had history taken a different course,
the crown prince of the House of Savoy,

versus a bunch of kids
described as spoiled little brats

on vacation in Sardinia.

That's why many people,
including myself, felt the urge to…

to duck out of this situation
as soon as possible.

We were too
scared to fight back.

[music fades]

I'm a journalist, and I tried to follow
this story as much as I could, but…

STELLA PENDE
JOURNALIST

…I was repeatedly threatened.
[clears throat]

Um…

I was repeatedly stopped.

They even got to my editor.

I received phone calls…

by an unidentified woman,

who said this to me,

"Be careful because
you have nice long legs

and you could,
how can I say this,

not be able to walk
on them anymore."

[ominous music playing]

Journalists didn't
want to write about it,

and when they did write something,
the articles would just disappear.

[ominous music continues]

I felt terribly lonely.

THEY LET VITTORIO
EMANUELE ESCAPE

[in Italian] It's something that dominates
our life ever since it happened.

Everything has
radically changed.

That day changed everything.

[ominous music continues]

[Birgit in English] Because
of the psychological shock triggered

by his son's death,
my father got sick.

He was suffering
from testicular cancer.

That's when he realized
that this trauma,

this incredible traumatic experience,
was the cause of his disease.

[mournful music playing]

Then, Dirk talked
to him in a dream

and told him,
"Yes, your intuition is correct."

[mournful music continues]

After this dream, Dirk Hamer's father
starts elaborating

on an original
medical theory…

GIANNI BARBACETTO
JOURNALIST

…which not only seeks to identify
the root causes of cancer…

but claims, as well,
to prescribe treatments for cancer.

[ominous music continues]

[Ryke Hamer] "Cancer is
triggered by an emotional trauma

for which we are unprepared
and have no idea how to cope."

"We must resolve
our psychological conflict

in order to heal."

"Cancer should
not be treated."

[reporter] His theory will be named
"Dirk Hamer Syndrome," after his son."

[reporter 2] Hamer has a big
following worldwide, including in Italy.

The pernicious effect
of Mr. Hamer's dream

had an impact at the time
and still has an impact today.

It caused hundreds
of deaths in Europe.

And still in 2022,

three or four Italian practitioners
have lost their license,

as they were followers
of the Hamer method.

[ominous music playing]

[Birgit] I once told him,

"How do you believe
you can genuinely heal cancer?" adding,

"After all, you're
not Jesus Christ"

What their father did
in his life is rather weird, isn't it?

PAOLA MARZOTTO
BIRGIT HAMER'S FRIEND

He was intelligent,
but he was also quite dangerous.

[suspenseful music playing]

[upbeat music playing]

[announcer in Italian]
Today's news.

[Marina] I've been a
victim of some kind of extortion.

I've been contacted
by the Hamer family,

and they asked
for ten million German marks.

They said, "Let's agree on a settlement.
If you pay this amount, we'll keep quiet,

we'll all be friends,
no more problems, and so on and so forth."

[intriguing music playing]

It was a tragedy for them.

ALBERTO PEDERZANI
VITTORIO EMANUELE OF SAVOY'S FRIEND

And it really
changed their lives.

They had to give the Hamers

huge amounts of money

on a regular basis.

[reporter in Italian]
Ma'am, they say

that you asked for hundreds of millions
from the crown prince. Is that true?

Uh, that's not true.

We asked for a fund,
in case my son had survived,

to guarantee him a source of income
for the rest of his destroyed life,

as a disabled person

who will never be able
to work in his life.

[reporter] Your son
has not survived, though.

[Sigrid Hamer] Right.
We're not asking for money now.

[reporter] Vittorio Emanuele claims
you asked for more than 700 million.

- Is that true?
- That's not true. That's a total lie.

[intriguing music continues]

[in English] All I know is
that my father asked the German Embassy…

to speak with the Savoy family.

Then the Savoy family
paid 200,000 marks.

To me, that was
a terrible thing…

because it's almost
like a pact with the devil

because you would accept money
from anyone else

but never from the individual
that shot and k*lled your child.

He took money from him,

only because he had
financial problems at the time.

That was a big
mistake, in my opinion.

He shouldn't have
mixed money and justice.

But that doesn't mean
that Vittorio is innocent.

They didn't refer to it
as an economic agreement.

[intriguing music continues]

They just said
that this incident was exploited

by the family to get rich
off Vittorio Emanuele.

WE DON'T WANT MONEY
BUT THE CROWN PRINCE IN PRISON

A brutal distortion
of the truth.

After these negotiations
with the Savoy family,

I said, "Okay,
I'll fight alone."

"I will not blindly delegate that
to my father anymore."

[indistinct conversations]

Her life took a new turn.

PINO APRILE
JOURNALIST

It changed drastically.

She didn't choose her life.

[upbeat music playing]

1979
PARIS, FRANCE

In the summer of
1979, I went to Paris,

and there I started working
as a model to pay my bills.

[upbeat music continues]

Then, in my spare time,
I would tour the newsrooms.

[indistinct conversations]

I would share my story
with anybody I bumped into.

I'd say, "This happened,
but the trial isn't moving forward."

[telephone ringing]

[Birgit in French] And now
they tell us that we can't have a trial,

as it's impossible
to reconstruct the crime scene.

So I just want the French people to know
the very strange, very obscure things

that are occurring
in the justice system, here.

THE TRUTH STILL AT SEA

[in Italian] They said,
thanks to your money and power,

you managed to have
the trial postponed.

No. I don't see how.

I don't see how I could have done it.
Neither with money nor with…

It's impossible.

- An investigation...
- There's a saying in Italy.

"Money and friends
can buy justice."

[chuckles] Maybe, but not in France.
They're different. They're slow.

They hadn't done
the investigation.

So they had to start it again
from scratch.

Because it hadn't been done properly.
They had nothing.

[reporter] The National Gendarmerie
headquarters in Bonifacio, Corsica.

According to this office,
in a report signed on August 18, 1978,

12 hours after the events,
on the island of Cavallo,

the only shots came
from Vittorio Emanuele's M1 r*fle.

[tense music playing]

[in English] Little by little,
they started fabricating

alternative versions.

Everything that had been
crystal clear from the beginning…

But then weirder things
started to happen.

[reporter] Only on December
15th did French forensics hand over

the fatal b*llet to
investigating Judge Breton in Ajaccio.

The question is,

"Was the b*llet really shot
from the prince's r*fle?"

Given how badly the
b*llet is compromised,

it can't be proven
beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Savoys' lawyers
smell an opportunity.

[eerie music playing]

AUGUST 18, 1978

[r*fle fires twice]

[dramatic whooshing]

[in Italian] We fell into the
water, and there,

uh… I couldn't hear
anything anymore.

It seems other shots were fired,
after all…

[man] By other
people, evidently.

Their…

[eerie music continues]

How to say, they
said they heard several shots.

My r*fle fired two.

[Levaufre in English] In the morning,
I went back to the boats.

[eerie music continues]

Inside an open
drawer I found a g*n.

MICHEL LEVAUFRE
FORMER WATCHMAN OF CAVALLO

And I took it.

It could have just been fired,
probably that night or the night before.

The barrel was clean,
but I could smell the powder.

It had been fired
three or four times that night.

That g*n had definitely been fired
very recently.

[eerie music continues]

His name was Levaufre.

He was a former paratrooper commander
of the French as*ault Navy.

He said he had found the g*n
and given it to the police…

so they could run some tests
and analyze it.

[eerie music continues]

[g*n clicking]

Two b*ll*ts were missing.

It was a .38
Special. Revolver.

[eerie music intensifies]

THE MISSING g*n

[Marina in Italian] The
doctor who first attended the wounded man

in Porto Vecchio,

reportedly said,
"This boy has been shot point-blank,

because there were
traces of gunpowder."

So if it had been
my husband's g*n,

as he was standing 15,
or at least 12 to 14 meters away,

the b*llet would have gone
through something

and couldn't have
left any gunpowder.

[eerie music continues]

[in English] The
island manager gives

the police the g*n he discovered
while examining the boats.

Two b*ll*ts are
missing from this g*n.

[low ominous music playing]

The police say to him,
"Don't let your imagination run wild."

"This g*n has nothing to do
with the incident."

However, for Vittorio Emanuele's
defense lawyers, this changes everything.

[ominous music continues]

DID I sh**t? YES.
NO. YES. I DON'T KNOW.

[man in German] The
admission of guilt is rescinded.

The prince does not stand
by his admission of guilt.

MR. GAUB LAWYER
OF VITTORIO EMANUELE OF SAVOY

Because when it was given, he was
in an understandable state of shock.

Suffice it to say that this is
the first time, since Marie Antoinette,

that a member of a royal family
has been imprisoned.

[ominous music continues]

[water flowing]

[Birgit in English] I learned
through my father

that the record of his admission
of guilt had disappeared

from the German
Embassy in Marseille.

I'm like, "What?
The document has disappeared?"

"Yes. And also the b*llet fragment
extracted from Dirk's femoral artery."

"That's also mysteriously
disappeared."

That's when I
said, "This is w*r."

[suspenseful music playing]

HIS MAJESTY MUST PAY

It bothered me.

Especially because my wife
had to fight for me.

Mom has been
very, very, very brave.

Very brave.

[suspenseful music continues]

They probably tried
to protect my father a little bit,

but my mother had to carry
the whole burden on her shoulders.

From that moment
on, she took on a role

that was much more important
than the one she had before.

Marina is a very strong person.

["Le temps de l'amour"
by Françoise Hardy playing]

[Pederzani] I met her in '55

at the Water Ski World Championships
in Beirut.

[reporter in Italian]
As a water-skiing world champion,

the pretty Marina Doria
was bound to win in Neuchâtel.

["Le temps de
l'amour" continues]

[in English] In Switzerland,
she was considered a celebrity.

She was, hands down,
the greatest water-skiing champion.

["Le temps de
l'amour" continues]

[water splashing]

[Pederzani] He's always been madly
in love with Marina.

Whatever activity you suggested,
he had to ask Marina first.

A wonderful couple.

The greatest pride
of my life was to marry her.

- I found the right person for me.
- ["Le temps de l'amour" continues]

WE ARE IN LOVE AND
NO ONE WILL HINDER US

[man] He meets Marina,
who is, first of all, a beautiful woman

and an Olympic
water-skiing champion.

He even goes so far
as to clash with his father.

LUCIANO REGOLO
JOURNALIST

They had an intense
correspondence,

where he tells him
that if he marries this woman,

he will lose his place
in the family succession.

MY FATHER WILL NOT
OBJECT TO MY WEDDING

[intriguing music playing]

[man in Italian] Umberto of Savoy
disapproved your marriage. Why?

I think he had different expectations
for his son. It's normal.

This family has
its own traditions.

Perhaps he expected his son to marry
a blue-blooded princess.

[sad music playing]

BIOGRAPHY OF VITTORIO EMANUELE OF SAVOY
"LIGHTNINGS OF LIFE"

[Vittorio] We
received an appanage from my father.

It was taken from me
because of my relationship with Marina.

[sad music continues]

FROM CASCAIS
UMBERTO SAYS "NO"

[Vittorio in English]
They took everything from me.

But this gave me the unique opportunity
of having to work.

And I got my own life back.

[joyful music playing]

[Marina] My
husband was working in Iran,

and ironically, he
was exiled from Italy.

But he worked for
many Italian companies,

such as Agusta.

[Barbacetto] Corrado Agusta
was a well-known Italian entrepreneur.

He produced helicopters
and weapon systems.

He thinks Vittorio Emanuele
is a great salesman,

the ideal man
to help him grow his business.

Because he has
extensive commercial contacts.

He's linked to all
of European royalty.

For example, he has a close relationship
with the Iranian shah,

one of the world's richest men,

who may have been an outstanding client
for the Agusta company.

I got to know the shah

quite well, at the
Brussels World's Fair.

I was there with my grandmother,
Queen Elizabeth.

I told Mr. Agusta,
"Let's go."

[rhythmic music playing]

1971
TEHRAN, IRAN

[horns honking]

[Pederzani] Corrado Agusta
sent him to Iran

to try and do
business with the shah.

The shah, who was
very fond of Vittorio,

bought 40 helicopters from him.

[rhythmic music continues]

That's where Vittorio Emanuele
got his fortune from.

I GOT MARRIED IN SECRET
NOT TO UPSET UMBERTO

[happy music playing]

[Vittorio] We had just gotten
married in Tehran.

It was a small church run by friars,
near the royal palace.

Very few guests were invited.

On the flight, I brought with me
Marina's wedding dress, by Valentino.

[happy music continues]

[Marina] Our
wedding was amazing.

We got married in Iran,
and the shah was our best man.

There was obviously
plenty of caviar,

but at the time it was only worth
a few cents a pound.

[happy music continues]

[in Italian] What are his qualities
and flaws?

Uh, he has a few flaws
and many good qualities.

- [man] What about his character?
- Well, he's very… very easygoing.

MARINA OF SAVOY
WIFE OF VITTORIO EMANUELE OF SAVOY

- [man] Not quick-tempered?
- No, no, no. Absolutely not.

[man] Contemplative?

Ah, sometimes he gets a little upset,
but it's normal, isn't it?

[man] Do you ever feel
that being a Savoy is a burden?

Uh, sometimes I do.

[intriguing music playing]

[in English] From then on,
Princess Marina devotes her life

to trying to have her husband exonerated
at whatever cost.

She even flies to the US to recreate
replicas of the three boats that were

on the scene
that night in Cavallo

and to undertake
ballistics testing to clear

Vittorio Emanuele's name.

[intriguing music continues]

Going to the United States,
reconstructing the boats,

figuring out the ballistics,

whether my father's b*llet had pierced
one, two, three boats…

And what about the other b*llet?

They had found another g*n,

the g*n had fired, then the g*n got lost,
then the g*n was found again…

[dramatic music playing]

[Marina] Over the
years, we've done many reenactments.

We even went to America to reenact
that night on the same boats.

And there's a
record of everything.

It wasn't my husband's b*llet
that wounded that young German boy.

I'M INNOCENT

[in Italian] We're asking
who made the evidence disappear,

who tried to muddy the waters,
to instill doubts, always new doubts,

when things have been clear
from the beginning.

How can someone
suddenly become innocent

after being blatantly
guilty all along?

[dramatic music fades]

[in English] I have never ever,
ever believed I did it. Ever.

Even if they kept
telling me. "I said no."

I WILL PROVE I
AM INNOCENT

[dramatic music playing]

It wasn't my fault.

b*ll*ts go straight.
They don't go like this…

The judge said that two years
after the investigation,

despite all the evidence,
which was super solid,

which couldn't possibly be more evident,
he said there were no elements,

uh, to be able to prove
Vittorio Emanuele was guilty.

TWO YEARS AFTER THE sh**ting, YOUR HONOR,
IS IT A CRIME WITHOUT PUNISHMENT?

Judge Breton, after casting doubt
on the prince's guilt, has done his part.

Soon after, he's
transferred to Tahiti.

Since then, he has always refused
to answer any questions.

This is just one of the…

many anomalies that plagued this case
from the start because, from the start,

one of the parties involved
was very interested

in making this story go away,
to cover it up,

to make it look
like a meaningless incident.

[news theme music playing]

[in Italian] Good morning. Our top story
is an event impacting our state.

Last night, the names of members,
or alleged members,

of the powerful Masonic lodge P2
have been disclosed.

The P2 is thought to be involved

in obscure political
and financial power games.

Among the documents of Licio Gelli,
the head of the lodge,

the judiciary has seized
a list of 962 names…

VITTORIO EMANUELE
ONE LIFE AND MANY MISTAKES

His name, too, appears in the P2 lists
of Licio Gelli's masonry.

"Savoy, Vittorio Emanuele.
PO Box 842, Geneva."

"Card number 1621."

[in English] The
P2 lists show that

Vittorio Emanuele
of Savoy had become

a Master, which is a pretty high level
in the Masonry hierarchy.

[in Italian] How come
a young man like you,

with many privileges in his life
and no need for help,

ends up hanging out with someone
like Licio Gelli?

[chuckles] No, I met him… Actually,
he came looking for me, here in Geneva.

But let me tell you, he was
a friendly person, very kind,

very polite and courteous.

And he came… I
met him in Geneva

to discuss
business, to increase,

uh, our business in Iran.

The condition was for you
to adhere to the Masonry?

Yes. Yes.
Yes, a little. Yes.

[in English] Being a member
of the P2 lodge granted the possibility

to access delicate,
confidential, secret business.

[action music playing]

Italian prosecutors began
significant investigations

into a wide
range of firms…

including lawful trade
between nations such as Italy and Iran.

[action music continues]

They might then become unlawful
due to triangulations,

because weapons sent to Iran
could be passed off to countries

where the weapons
could not be sold.

[helicopter whirring]

Official sales of weapons
and helicopters were made to Persia,

which at the time,
was a trading partner.

However, these products
would not end up in Persia.

They ended up in countries
that were embargoed.

WEAPONS IN
PRETORIA? MADE IN ITALY

[man] I am Carlo Palermo,

former judge

of the Trento Court
from 1975 to 1984.

Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy
was first brought to my attention

through some investigations

where he actually appeared
as the intermediary…

[tense music playing]

…in multiple sales
of arms and heavy weaponry…

to some Middle-Eastern
countries.

[Barbacetto] The weapon smuggling
was taking place under the watchful eye

of the Italian secret services.

Thus, it was incredibly difficult
for the judiciary,

well, for the people in the judiciary
that were not accomplices,

to throw light on this matter.

[dramatic music playing]

Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy
was not personally investigated

because I only worked
on the case for six months

before the investigation
was stopped

and the original file
of the Trento investigation

was basically tampered with
and almost entirely erased.

[dramatic music continues]

[Barbacetto] The Freemasons
are precisely the linking bridge

connecting the legal
and ill*gal worlds.

To be part of an exclusive club,
such as the P2,

to be part of
such groups…

means to have connections,

personal relationships
with high-profile people.

Judges…

military people, secret services agents,
entrepreneurs…

And Vittorio Emanuele
was part of this power system.

What does it mean?

It means that if you have a problem,
you know where you can get help.

[indistinct chatter]

In France, for instance,
the Masonry's very powerful.

We always bounced
against this impenetrable wall.

It was as if the
system in Paris…

as if it could deactivate
all the mechanisms of democracy,

and…

and even… as
if the rule of law was deactivated,

and he could just find help
at the highest levels.

[dramatic music playing]

Paris. I stayed
there for two years.

I spoke with several lawyers.

I ended up meeting one…

[dramatic music continues]

[sighs]

…who was considered perhaps
the top lawyer in France at the time.

And he told me,
"Yes, I've heard about your story."

"You're very pretty."

"If you come on vacation with me,
I'll make sure you get justice."

[dramatic music continues]

All my hopes came crushing down.
All of them.

[sad music playing]

APRIL 12, 1985
ROME, ITALY

[sad music continues]

We lost Mom
seven years after Dirk's death.

I needed to be left alone.

And to go for a walk.

I ended up in
this little square.

I saw there was a long line of people,
and for some reason,

I decided to ask around,
"What's going on here? What is it?"

"Marina Doria
is inaugurating this church."

Instinctively, I
joined the line,

and on the other side of the church,
on the left, there she was,

stretching out her hand to me.

[dramatic music continues]

[Marina] During a
celebration, Miss Hamer approached me,

threatened me,
and almost nearly slapped me.

And it was very,
very, very unpleasant.

[dramatic music continues]

[Birgit] I was so startled.

I kept thinking, "Today we buried
Dirk Hamer's mother,

and justice still
needs to be done."

[suspenseful music playing]

I was taken out, to
the police station,

where all the policemen tried
to cheer me up.

[sad music playing]

Birgit had
this ability to…

to rise like a phoenix,

despite the inner turmoil
she was going through.

But it was pretty clear
she was never going to give up her fight.

[Birgit] During all these years,
I was always surrounded by people saying,

"Impossible. Impossible."

The same word,
over and over again.

I started hating that word.

I crossed it off my
vocabulary like this.

[inspirational music playing]

It no longer meant anything to me,
as if this word didn't exist anymore.

You repeat it until it
becomes possible.

[inspirational music continues]

I was working as an interpreter,

and one day I met a French man,
who told me,

"Oh, yeah, there is
only one absolutely incorruptible

and honest
lawyer in Paris."

He gave me her number,
and I called her.

She gave me an appointment,
I immediately went to see her,

and she turned out to
be an amazing woman.

[inspirational music continues]

I said, "Look, I have nothing.
I have nothing."

"There's nothing
but injustice in my life."

"If we win, I will
cover you in gold."

"If not, you won't
get anything."

SABINE PAUGAM
LAWYER OF BIRGIT HAMER

Seeing her, getting to know her
gave me so much strength, so much joy…

[inspirational music continues]

So, with her help,
I filed petition after petition,

again and again,
and demanded a trial.

[inspirational
music intensifies]

[music stops]

[in Italian] Twelve years
after the events, Vittorio Emanuele

is investigated again
by the French judiciary,

accused of involuntary
manslaughter.

The trial will take place
before the Assize Court of Paris.

[in English] Criminal court!
The Assize Court. The court of jurors.

The thing is, no
one wanted a jury trial.

The Assize Court
was the most terrible court in Europe.

Let's not forget
that courtroom…

that courtroom

of the large Parisian Assize,

hosted the trial of a famous man

eventually sentenced to the guillotine,
Louis XVI. Right there!

NOVEMBER 13, 1991

[intriguing music playing]

[reporter] Vittorio
Emanuele has prepared his defense

with lawyers Paul Lombard,
Jacques Léauté, and Jacques Flécheux.

They know that his illustrious name
might not help him with this jury.

If found guilty, he could be sentenced
to five to fifteen years in prison.

[sad music playing]

[cameras clicking]

Those five days were
really, really hard.

Very hard for him,
because he didn't know the outcome.

Hard for my mother.

She had gone through 15 years
of legal battles.

[sad music continues]

Hard for me too because seeing

a father and a mother suffering
makes your heart… ache.

When you're tried by a jury,

you have to spend the night in prison
throughout its duration.

[keys jangling]

And for him, sleeping
there was profoundly distressing.

"If I spend the night in prison,
I don't know if I'll make it

to the following day."
Because it was humiliating for him,

to the point of saying,
"I could do something bad to myself".

[sad music continues]

We got to the
courtroom at 9 a.m.,

and by 9:15, Vittorio
wasn't there yet.

At 9:30, Vittorio
still wasn't there.

I thought, "sh*t,
my worst fears have materialized."

[dramatic whoosh]

[ominous music playing]

[ominous music continues]

[music ends]