Buying a house is a joyful step in life… but not for everyone! Saturday November 2, the new owners of a house in Erstroff, in Moselle, made a macabre discovery under the roof of the outbuilding. They found the body of the former flag holder, who disappeared 15 years earlier.
“It’s a remains reduced to a skeleton which was discovered on Saturday afternoon, Sarreguemines public prosecutor Olivier Glady told AFP on Monday. She was in an outbuilding which is adjoining the main house, in an inaccessible place, under the roof of this outbuilding, of which access was almost hidden.”
The victim's wife continued to live in the house
According to the Sarreguemines public prosecutor's office, one of the new owners of the house, purchased in 2023, was renovating the roof of the outbuilding when he came across the skeleton. “It was while looking for the causes of rainwater infiltration into the roof that one of the owners somewhat inadvertently accessed this cubbyhole, in which he discovered the skeletal remains,” explained the prosecutor.
Immediately alerted, the authorities sent the remains to the Strasbourg Forensic Institute for identification. It would be that of the former owner of the house,
an 81-year-old man who disappeared in 2009. At the time, numerous searches had been carried out in the region, without result. The octogenarian was never found and his disappearance remained unexplained. Afterwards, his wife continued to live in the house until her death in 2020. The Moselle pavilion was then sold.
A rope found in the attic, the favored theory of suicide
For the moment, the prosecution would favor the theory of voluntary death. “The scene of discovery of the body is suggestive of suicide”, explained the prosecutor. A rope was indeed found in the attic, still hanging.
The investigation was entrusted to the Forbach research brigade. It must formally identify the remains, establish the date and cause of death and eliminate any possible intervention by a third party.
