On Wednesday, the Moroccan Taha O., the main suspect in the murder of Philippine, the student found dead in the Bois de Boulogne in September, confessed during his hearing at the Paris judicial court by the investigating judge in charge of the case . The young 22-year-old Moroccan national, who was arrested in Switzerland before being extradited to France, admitted to having killed the 19-year-old student whose body was found partially buried and not far from her mobile phone, on 21 September, in the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris, reports The Parisianspecifying that the autopsy concluded that he died of asphyxiation. This young Moroccan “with a chaotic journey, marked by abandonment by his father in Spain and placements in a foster home”, however, says he is incapable of remembering the facts.
Read: Murder of Philippine: Taha O. will be extradited to France on Wednesday
Arrested on September 24 at Geneva's main station as the main suspect in the murder of Philippine, the 19-year-old student found dead in the Bois de Boulogne, in the west of Paris, on September 21, the 22-year-old Moroccan was extradited to France. The Paris prosecutor's office had opened a judicial investigation for rape and homicide. He “is subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). But this had not been executed at the time of this chance meeting with Philippine,” said the same source.
Read:A Moroccan arrested for the murder of Philippine
The sexual motive is favored because of Taha O's criminal record. He was tried for a first rape of another student in the Taverny forest (Val-d'Oise). For now, the investigating judge has retained the charges of rape. The suspect would have to continue for many months with different expertise, particularly psychiatric, to understand the reasons behind his action and his recidivism. Taha O.'s relatives who sometimes sheltered him in France are subject to an OQTF with a view to expulsion to Morocco, their country of origin.
