A 35-year-old man was indicted for murder and placed in pre-trial detention on Sunday November 24, 2024 after the discovery of the body of his octogenarian neighbor in a travel bag, in a forest near Blois (Loir-et-Cher), indicates theAFP.
On November 19, the victim's family, worried about not having any news, reported his disappearance. “The first investigations carried out at his home revealed the absence of disorder, but the presence of small traces of blood splashes, particularly on the wall behind the living room sofa,” specifies the Blois public prosecutor's office.
A dispute between the suspect and his neighbor
Investigators then learned of the existence of a dispute between the 81-year-old woman and her upstairs neighbor. The latter did not respond when the police went to his home. A search was then carried out and the thirty-year-old's home was placed under seal.
The investigations also revealed “that large pools of blood had been cleaned from the floor of the apartment” and had also uncovered traces of blood on the staircase between this accommodation and that of his neighbor.
The thirty-year-old denies any involvement
On Friday, the suspect presented himself at the police station and was immediately taken into custody. The man denies any involvement in the murder of his neighbor, but claims to have “discovered her neighbor lying at home and dead”. He claims to have then cleaned the scene before placing the body in a travel bag, “for fear of reprisals from the murderer, of whom he knew nothing”, explains the prosecution.
The thirty-year-old, with no criminal record, is, according to a member of his family, “out of care” psychiatric, but this has not yet been verified by investigators.
