the alleged murderer “very composed and very calm” during his police custody, the investigation is progressing

Paul D., 22, “spontaneously admitted the facts”, according to his lawyer. Professional revenge is the avenue favored by investigators, but many gray areas persist. He provides “no explanation” for the murder of two migrants.

48 hours after surrendering, Paul D. is still being questioned by investigators from the Northern judicial police. The 22-year-old alleged murderer “is very relaxed and very calm”according to his lawyer whom one of our teams was able to meet briefly. Maître Véronique Planckeel is not, however, “not sure if this boy really understands the consequences of his actions.”

Paul D., unknown to the police and the courts, immediately told investigators that he was the author of the quintuple homicide when he spontaneously presented himself to the Ghyvelde gendarmerie (North), Saturday December 14, 2024 at 5:20 p.m. According to our information, he calmly recounts the course of this disastrous afternoon, which began in Wormhout (North).

According to the first elements of the investigation, it seems that the main suspect felt resentment against his first victim. Paul Dekeister (the suspect and the victim have the same first name and the same initial of the last name, Editor's note), head of a small transport company, was the former employer of Paul D. His contract as a truck driver having not not been renewed without knowing how it was broken, the alleged murderer would have developed animosity towards his former boss. While looking for work at the time of the events, he allegedly shot Paul Dekeister several times.

Concerning the two security agents from the ECS company killed almost an hour later in the Loon-Plage port area, the gray areas are intensifying. “He knew one by sight, it seems, that’s all”says Master Planckeel. During a press conference, the CEO of Eamus Cork Security (ECS) confirmed that Paul D. had been an employee of the company. He had carried out “a period of training and professionalization contract (…) more than a year and a half ago”, explains Patrick Guerbette.

According to him, the alleged murderer had ended the collaboration after four months, without him “there be no problem, resentment, reproach or particular worry.” Patrick Guerbette finally assures that during his time at ECS, Paul D. didn't have “no way” been in contact with the two targeted agents. Aurélien Cugny and Marc Lehmus, aged 33 and 37, were killed on Saturday December 14, 2024 at 4:07 p.m. Equipped with bulletproof vests, but unarmed, they were patrolling as part of securing the coastline.

Read also ► 5 people killed near Dunkirk: Marc, Aurélien, Paul… who are the victims of the 22-year-old alleged murderer?

5 kilometers away, two Iranian Kurdish exiles aged 19 and 30 were subsequently targeted by the murderer. According to several migrants met there, their names were Mustafa and Ahmid. A double execution to which Paul D. does not bring “no explanation”according to the lawyer. A source close to the case indicates that the two exiles were targeted by chance.

Paul D.'s custody, open for “murders preceded, accompanied or followed by another crime” et “acquisition, possession, carrying and transport of category A and B weapons” could last 96 hours, or until Wednesday December 18, 2024. In his vehicle, at least 3 long guns were discovered, according to a union source.

In addition to the suspect's hearings, numerous investigations are underway, “taking into account the plurality of victims and the plurality of crime scenes”specifies the Dunkirk prosecutor, Charlotte Huet. Among these, the use of one's cell phone and computer. Investigators are also trying to find out how Paul D. obtained weapons: were they his own, even though he attended a Dunkirk shooting club? Those of a member of his family, some of whose members practice hunting? At the same time, autopsies on the bodies of the five victims are underway.

Unanswered questions at this stage, and many gray areas on the murderer's journey. Was it a premeditated act? How could Paul D. fall into this murderous madness? According to his neighbor, who had known him for a long time, nothing suggested such an act. “He's a very good boy, no fuss, very polite, very helpful, he explains. We knew him when he was little. Never any fuss, hardworking at school, serious in his work… We wonder what could have happened”. Just like the investigators and the bereaved families of the five victims of this killing.