Three days after the discovery of the body of a student buried in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, a 22-year-old suspect, previously convicted of rape and subject to an OQTF, was arrested on Tuesday in Switzerland.
The man is 22 years old and of Moroccan nationality, a source close to the case told AFP, confirming information fromNews 17.
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to AFP that a suspect had been “identified and arrested today in the canton of Geneva“. “An extradition request will be sent to the Swiss authorities“, he added. The Geneva police had not yet responded to AFP’s requests this evening.
According to the prosecution, the suspect, “in an irregular situation on French territory, was convicted in October 2021 for rape committed in 2019 (when he was a minor)“. He had been “released, at the end of his sentence, in June 2024“.
The victim, named Philippine and aged 19, was a student at the University of Paris-Dauphine. Her body was found buried in the Bois de Boulogne, located in the west of Paris, during a search on Saturday afternoon. It was her family who reported her disappearance. The student was last seen on Friday at lunchtime, at the university.
This Tuesday at the end of the day, only a few joggers or cyclists were on site, 500 meters from the University of Paris Dauphine, after a bridge which spans the ring road, noted an AFP journalist.
Annie (name changed), who lives nearby, came to see where Philippine’s body was discovered.It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and I wanted to see where it happened. But you should definitely not come here alone.” she says.
According to a police source, witnesses reported seeing a man with a pickaxe in the area.
The investigation, opened for voluntary homicide, has been entrusted to the criminal brigade of the Paris judicial police.
Suspect placed in administrative detention center
According to the source close to the case, the suspect was released from detention on June 20 and was placed in an administrative detention center (CRA) in Metz.
On September 3, a judge of liberties and detention had validated his release from the detention center. A measure accompanied by an obligation to check in. On September 4, Morocco had made “obtain expulsion authorization” to the French authorities, according to this source.
The day before the murder, on September 19, the suspect had been placed on the wanted persons file because he had not complied with his obligation to report, according to the same source.
