Dmonths after the discovery of Lina’s body in Nièvre, forensic expertise has produced new conclusions. If the autopsy carried out did not make it possible to formally determine the cause of the death of the 15-year-old girl, the latest analyzes suggest the hypothesis of death by strangulation.
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According to a press release from the acting prosecutor of Strasbourg, Alexandre Chevrier, elements “tend to demonstrate” that Lina, who disappeared on September 23, 2023 in Alsace, was killed by strangulation “using the handles” of a bag of “ tote bag type”. Fragments of tissue were found on the teenager’s neck, making this hypothesis likely.
In addition, forensic analyzes did not reveal other violence, particularly of a sexual nature. They also ruled out the hypothesis of death by drowning, while the body of the teenager was found “partially submerged” in a watercourse. “No trace of narcotic, medicinal or toxic substances” was found and “genetic analyzes carried out on the clothing” were negative. Other analyzes are nevertheless still in progress, specifies the magistrate, and the investigations are continuing.
ALSO READ Death of Lina: these questions that remain unansweredThe first results of the investigation had already put forward the hypothesis of death by asphyxiation and that the teenager had been “probably tied up”.
The main suspect would have acted alone
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All the elements made available to investigators point to a “solitary action” on the part of Samuel Gonin, the main suspect in this case. “No link has been established between the latter and other facts of a similar nature,” specifies the Strasbourg prosecutor, who mentions a closure of the judicial investigation “at the end of the first half of 2025”.
However, questions remain unanswered as Samuel Gonin committed suicide last July, several months before the discovery of Lina’s body, and without being able to deliver his version. It was her vehicle, geolocated near the place where the teenager had no longer given any sign of life and where her DNA was found, which allowed investigators to follow her trail.
