Man Buried Alive: A Cold-Blooded 'Family' Betrayal

In a shocking case of betrayal, three men who convinced a young Frenchman he had joined their "family" murdered him and entombed his body in a concrete grave in their garden. The horrific crime, which went unsolved for four years, unraveled when one of the killers, plagued by guilt, confessed to police from a phone booth.

The victim, 35-year-old Christophe Borgye, a Ryanair flight steward, was brutally murdered in May 2009 by his housemates in Ellesmere Port, UK. Christophe had been living with Dominik Kocher (the ringleader), Sebastian Bendou, and Manuel Wagner. The three men, all originally from France or Germany, had met Christophe through a colleague and lured him into their home under the pretense of a communal, family-like arrangement.

The Deception

Kocher, a married father of three, presented himself as a benevolent patriarch who would handle all household finances, cooking, and cleaning. In reality, he was a manipulative figure who took control of his housemates' monthly incomes, promising to return any unspent money. However, Kocher, who was living beyond his means, was siphoning off the money for himself. The scheme relied on the earnings of all housemates, and when Christophe announced he was relocating to Brussels for work, Kocher's plan began to crumble. He knew his financial deceit would be exposed, so he hatched a cold-blooded plan to kill Christophe.

The Attack and Entombment

On the night of the murder, the three men, armed with knives, cornered Christophe in the kitchen under the guise of a "deep clean." The knives proved ineffective in inflicting a fatal blow, so Wagner used a claw hammer to strike Christophe, killing him. The killers quickly wrapped Christophe's body in a tarpaulin, carried it to a pre-dug grave in the garden shed, and buried him in concrete along with the murder weapons.

Following the murder, the trio went to a restaurant for lunch as if nothing had happened. They sold Christophe's belongings, including his car and CD collection, and Kocher even used his credit card to buy an anniversary card for his wife. To mislead family and colleagues, they sent a fake email from Christophe's account, claiming he had gone to China.

A Confession and Justice

Christophe was reported missing by his colleagues after he failed to show up for work. The case remained cold for four years until April 2013, when Sebastian Bendou, consumed by paranoia and guilt, called Cheshire Police from a phone box in Scotland. He confessed in French, telling the dispatcher, "This is too much for my mind."

Bendou's confession led to the arrest of Kocher and Wagner. In 2014, Dominik Kocher was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 23 years. Sebastian Bendou, who had to be treated for mental illness, was also found guilty of murder in a separate trial and received a 14-year minimum life sentence.

Manuel Wagner, who initially denied any involvement, was acquitted in the first trial. However, Bendou's testimony in a later trial revealed that Wagner had been the one to wield the fatal hammer. In 2017, Wagner was re-tried and found guilty of murder, receiving a life sentence with a minimum of 16 years. This case serves as a chilling reminder of how a seemingly kind offer can conceal a sinister and deadly intent.