Two months after the discovery of Lina’s body, analyzes of the body were awaited to determine the exact circumstances of his death. The body of the teenager, who disappeared on September 23, 2023, was found on October 16, in a stream near Nevers (Nièvre), nearly 500 kilometers from the place of her disappearance.
Unfortunately, “the autopsy carried out on October 19, at the headquarters of the Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie (IRCGN) did not make it possible to determine the causes of the death of the teenager who had disappeared thirteen months later. early near his home in Plaine (Bas-Rhin),” indicates Latest News Alsace. Additional examinations were requested by the two investigating judges of the Strasbourg judicial court in charge of the investigation.
Nearly two months after the discovery of the teenager’s body, forensic examinations led to the conclusion that she had been strangled by the strap of a fabric bag, such as a “tote bag”.. “Fragments of tissue were found at the neck of the teenager, making it likely that she died by strangulation,” DNA said.
A press conference planned for Friday
This Friday, December 20, the acting prosecutor, Alexandre Chevrier, will hold a press conference at the Strasbourg courthousehe announced on Tuesday, December 17.
“As a continuation of the investigations which made it possible to discover the body of young Lina on October 16, 2024, and the conclusions of the medico-legal expertise ordered for the purpose of investigating the causes of death, Mr. Alexandre Chevrier, interim public prosecutor near the prosecution of the Strasbourg judicial court, will hold on Friday December 20, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., a press conference at the Strasbourg courthouse”, we can read in a press release.
A vague investigation
The main suspect in the case, Samuel Gonin, had an unstable psychological profile “of the borderline type” and “a significant depressive state”. He was also already known to the police for having attacked an elderly woman and a cashier.
On January 6, 2024, he was checked by customs officers on the A9 towards Spain, in Languedoc-Roussillon. He then tried to flee customs officers by forcing three toll barriers. He was finally arrested after a 30-minute chase.
Following this chase, he will confess to the thefts he committed. While he was to be tried for two aggravated robberies last July, the forty-year-old committed suicide 12 days before his hearing. The 43-year-old man was found hanging at his home in Besançon on July 10, 2024.
The journey of Samuel Gonin
Investigators managed to trace Lina’s body, thanks to DNA traces found in the suspect’s vehicle, a stolen Ford Puma registered in Germany. The latter moved around a lot, without a coherent route. The geolocation of the vehicle made it possible to know where it was precisely on the day of Lina’s disappearance and the path it took thereafter.
Although the car’s data proves that he was at the scene of the teenager’s disappearance, there is no indication that he was driving the vehicle during the trip. Did he have an accomplice? Had he acted alone? Certain elements of the investigation remain to be clarified…
