Omar Killed Me

36 votes and 17 Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes® Score
73%

On February 2, 1994, Omar Raddad, a Moroccan who spoke little French, was sentenced to 18 years in French prison for the brutal murder of Ghislaine Marchal, a wealthy woman who employed him as a gardener. Before dying, she took the time to write in her own blood, "Omar m'a tuer" (roughly translated as "Omar to kill me" due to a spelling error— it should have read "Omar m'a tué").

But would an educated woman have made such a sloppy spelling mistake? Could the phrase have been written by her murderer in an effort to frame Omar? Despite a lack of forensic and DNA evidence, and despite the accused's solid alibi, the jury found him guilty. Shocked by the sloppy work of the French justice system and convinced of the gardener's innocence, writer Pierre-Emmanuel Vaugrenard moved to Nice to conduct his own investigation and to write a book on the subject. While the humble, illiterate worker languished in prison in Grasse, Vaugrenard uncovered amazing facts. Although made aware of the new developments, and supported by his family, Omar continues to doubt that justice will ever be served. In French with English subtitles.