the essential
Nearly 22 years after the events, two men accused of the kidnapping followed by death of a sales executive, found in a ditch in Meurthe-et-Moselle, admitted their involvement.
Two men accused of the “kidnapping followed by death” of Philippe Charuel, a sales executive whose body was found in a ditch in Meurthe-et-Moselle, admitted their involvement on Monday, almost 22 years after the events.
On February 20, 2003, the lifeless body of Philippe Charuel, who was then looking for work, was discovered in a ditch, along a departmental road in Gondreville (Meurthe-et-Moselle).
The investigation showed that two young prostitutes had declared that they had been bothered by Philippe Charuel, near Nancy station, on the night of February 19 to 20, between midnight and one a.m., while the latter was leaving ‘a bar.
He was then put into a car, a black BMW, by two men, who were later identified as Christian Rad and Vasile Ostas. After a long run, the two fugitives, “involved in pimping”, according to the Spanish police, were arrested in August 2023 near Barcelona. They had been living in Catalonia for around twenty years, under a false identity.
Recognized facts
Questioned before the Assize Court in Nancy, Vasile Ostas, 52, assured that he “recognized” the facts and said he was “sorry” on numerous occasions. “I hit him but I didn’t want him dead,” he said. “I ask forgiveness from the victim’s family” and “from French society,” continued the accused, of Romanian nationality.
On the night of February 19, 2003, Vasile Ostas was with his nephew, his co-defendant Christian Rad, and “two girls”, the two prostitutes for whom they are suspected of having been pimps. They “all four” hit Philippe Charuel, continued the accused. Vasile Ostas, however, assured Monday morning that he had never had any connection with the world of prostitution.
-Christian Rad, 40, agreed, also admitting to having hit the victim “with his hands”, in the presence of “the two girls and (his) uncle”. “I saw a lot of violence, it was a shock for me too, I thought a lot about the family (of Philippe Charuel) all evening,” he said. Both spoke in French. “A pipe” was also used to hit the victim, according to Christian Rad, who denies the use of a saber, mentioned during the investigation.
“Numerous wounds and lesions”
After these statements, part of Philippe Charuel’s family left the room, when other members took hands.
Philippe Charuel lived in Toul, a few kilometers from where his body was found. He was described as “a man without fuss” who frequented nightclubs, recently separated from his wife and father of a young child.
His body had around twenty injuries to the abdomen, several broken ribs, as well as “numerous wounds and lesions” on the face, with even a fracture of the mandible and loss of teeth, explained the president of the court, Thérèse Diligent.
On the day the body was discovered, suspicious traces were also discovered in a hotel in Laxou, very close to Nancy, with a “significant blood stain in the garbage room”, two teeth and even a watch belonging to Philippe Charuel. A Japanese sword was also found nearby.
The hearing, which began Monday morning, was initially scheduled to last four days, but due to the large number of witnesses called, around twenty, the verdict is ultimately not expected until Friday. The two men had already been sentenced in absentia and in their absence in 2011 to 30 and 26 years of criminal imprisonment.
