France: Two Arrests in Murder of 11-Year-Old Girl

Yesterday, we reported on the stabbing death of an 11-year-old girl in Essonne, France and the search for her killer. Initially, two people, a man and a woman, were taken into custody but were subsequently released. 

French police have now arrested a 23-year-old and his 55-year-old mother. The arrest occurred today in Rouen, France, which is 94 miles from the scene of the crime. While the man is charged with murder, the mother is specifically charged with not reporting the crime. They are not further identified. (I have seen a couple of Belgian news outlets that state the suspects “have French nationality” (quotation marks mine)

The below article from France Bleu is translated by Fousesquawk.

The murder of Louise in Essonne: A man and his mother placed in custody. 

After the discovery of the body of Louise, 11, in a wooded area in Essonne during the night of Friday into Saturday, a man and his mother were arrested in Rouen and placed in custody Monday afternoon, according to the prosecutor’s office of Evry.

Caption: The body of Louise, 11, was discovered in a wooded area of Essonne at the edge of three municipalities. “Rest in peace, Louise. We will not forget you.”

The investigation opened for the “murder of a minor of 15 years (or under)” continues after the discovery of her body during the night of Friday into Saturday in a wooded area of Essonne. A 23-year-year-old man and his 55-year-old mother were arrested and placed in custody Monday afternoon, the prosecutor’s office of Evry reported in a press release, on charges of “murder of a minor of 15 years (and under)” for the man and “failure to report a crime”, concerning the woman. “Checks are in progress for the purpose of determining their eventual implication in the commission of these acts,” the prosecutor’s office says.

The two arrests took place in Rouen on Monday, reports a source close to the case to Franceinfo (news). The man is known to the courts for minor crimes. He is listed as without fixed abode and is in the habit of passing through Essonne. An object that could belong to him was recovered during the search carried out Sunday by police, according to this same source.

The adolescent had disappeared after leaving her school in Epinay-sur-Orge Friday afternoon. Her parents put out an alert, and a call for witnesses was widely relayed on social media. A large police force deployed finally enabled the discovery of the lifeless body of the young girl in a wooded area of Templiers, at the edge of three municipalities including Longjumeau and Epinay-sur-Orge.

The cell phone of the adolescent was recovered during the night of Friday into Saturday, Franceinfo learned from a source close to the case, confirming information from LCI (news). The autopsy performed Saturday revealed “the presence of numerous wounds inflicted with a sharp object in the vital areas,” according to the prosecutor’s office. In a press release, the Republic prosecutor of Evry, Gregoire Dulin, stated that, “at this stage, there is no element that would confirm that sexual violence was committed”.