On Saturday, in Nîmes, a funeral director discovered a 33-centimeter knife in the thorax of a corpse during the mortuary toilet. This Monday, the prosecutor revealed that this discovery was compatible with the hypothesis already put forward of suicide to explain the death of this 54-year-old man.
“The forensic doctor who carried out the autopsy in Nîmes this Monday afternoon confirms that the knife discovered in the thorax is indeed the cause of death and that the way in which the knife was inserted is compatible with a suicidal gesture,” specifies Alès Abdelkrim Grini, the Alès prosecutor. An investigation was opened to “search for the causes of death” in order to determine whether it was a possible murder or to corroborate the theory of suicide.
A cutter also discovered alongside him supports the suicide theory
The man, treated for psychological suffering, was found inert in the grounds of a clinic in Aubagne, near Marseille, where he was being monitored. A box cutter was discovered next to him, as well as letters in which he indicated that he was ending his life. At the family's request, the body was then repatriated to Gard, to Vigan, close to the Cévennes.
“An older wound, of the same size as that caused by the knife, was also noted by the forensic doctor. Obviously, he had already previously tried to end his life,” added the prosecutor, who specified that he would refer the file to the Marseille prosecutor’s office “as a precaution.”
