The alleged perpetrators of the theft were arrested and admitted the facts. The chapel had been erected in memory of a destroyed village.
After almost two weeks of research, the «Bonnie & Clyde» of Isère were found. A couple behind the looting of a small chapel in the town of Mayres-Savel was arrested on Tuesday. The man and woman will be tried on March 28, we learned Le Figaro with the Grenoble public prosecutor’s office this October 1st.
The facts date back to September 20, when the gendarmes from the La Mure gendarmerie company were called for a break-in.
Religious objects resold on eBay
On site, the authorities noted that the entrance door to the chapel, built in 1961 by EDF after the destruction of the village of Savel to build a hydraulic dam, had been broken into. Inside, three valuable religious objects are missing: a Virgin and Child, in polychrome and gilded wood, dating from the 18th century; a so-called Saint-Blaise reliquary, also dating from the 18th century; and a 19th century altar cross.
The investigations carried out by the La Mure Research Brigade revealed some of the stolen items on the peer-to-peer sales site eBay. “With the agreement of the prosecutor, the investigators traveled to the south of France, arrested the receiver and seized the objects he was still holding”including the Virgin and the reliquary, said the prosecution.
Investigators finally identified the two perpetrators of the theft, a couple, in the Grenoble region. The gendarmes arrested them on October 2. They admitted the facts, while they still held the altar cross.
