She was getting ready to join her parents for the weekend. Philippine was finally found lifeless in the Bois de Boulogne the day after her disappearance, Saturday September 21, 2024. The body of this 19-year-old student was hidden under a small mound of earth on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, not far from the Paris-Dauphine University where she studied. Who could have attacked her?
“There are several witnesses, notably a security guard at a funfair located in the Bois de Boulogne, who explain having seen a man with a surgical mask and a pickaxe in his hand who was heading towards a small lake in the Bois de Boulogne, reports Guillaume Poingt, journalist specializing in news items at Figaro. A first track which gives nothing.
It is ultimately a withdrawal of money “which will very quickly advance the investigation. The Philippine credit card is used in Montreuil a few hours after his disappearance. The police will be able to trace the profile of the suspect,” says Sophie Neumayer, journalist with RTL’s Police/Justice department. With the help of video surveillance, a silhouette emerges.
But that's not all, the investigators manage to identify phone number of the one who will become the main suspect: a certain Want Oualida22 ans, of Moroccan nationality. “They realize that this number pinpoints the place where Philippine was found, explains the guest of The Hour of Crime. Then, the suspect took care to turn off his phone before turning it back on, on the day of his arrest, in Annecy.”
A collaboration with Swiss police
The arrest of the main suspect hangs by a thread. “The suspect arrives in Switzerland, at Geneva station. The Swiss police were very responsive. They receive information that this man is wanted, they have his photo. One of the Swiss police officers managed to recognize Taha Oualidat, add Sophie Neumayer. Except that at that time, the Swiss did not have an arrest warrant. The police officer who identifies him therefore arrests him on the offense of illegal residence. It is first of all in this context that they will question him.”
Monday November 4, 2024, Taha Oualidat confirms his agreement for extradition. He is handed over to the border police two days later and transferred to Paris. The main suspect is indicted for “murder accompanied by another repeat crime, repeat rape, as well as theft and fraud”. The Moroccan remains silent during this hearing.
DNA traces, telephone demarcation and video surveillance, this bundle of concordant clues will have made it possible to go back to Taha Oualidat. The man has still not recognized the facts: “Not sure that the investigators need the confessions, precise Sophie Neumayer. But it’s always better for the family and the investigators to understand.”
“There are still quite a few gray areas. We want to know what happened with Philippine,” concludes Guillaume Poingt. “Did he follow her? Did he follow her? spotted it? We also want to know how long he was there in the area, perhaps there were other victims? We don't really know what Taha Oualidat's journey was between the time he disappeared from the detention center and the murder of Philippine.” The suspect faces life imprisonment.
Guests from “Hour of Crime”
– Sophie Neumayer, journalist in the Police/Justice department of RTL.
– Guillaume Poingt, journalist specializing in news items for Le Figaro.
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