the accused, Taha O., a Moroccan under OQTF and already convicted of rape, arrested in Switzerland

A 22-year-old individual, Taha O., suspected of having murdered Philippine, a 19-year-old student in Paris, was arrested this Tuesday evening in Geneva (Switzerland). The suspect, already known to the courts, had been convicted of rape in 2019. He was subject to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF). The investigation is progressing with the extradition request in progress.

The main suspect in the murder of Philippine, a 19-year-old student in Paris, was arrested this Tuesday evening at Geneva train station by Swiss police. The 22-year-old man, Taha O., will be placed in pre-trial detention pending an extradition request made by France.

A suspect already known to the courts

Taha O., a Moroccan national, was under an Order to Leave French Territory (OQTF) and was the subject of a search form linked to this measure. He has a serious criminal record: in September 2019, he was convicted of raping a 23-year-old woman in a wood in Taverny (Val-d’Oise). After serving a prison sentence at the Joux-la-Ville detention center, he was transferred to an administrative detention center (CRA) in Metz before being released in circumstances that are still unclear.

DNA found at crime scene

Investigators quickly identified Taha O. thanks to his DNA found at the crime scene, as well as his registration in the Automated Judicial File of Perpetrators of Sexual or Violent Offenses (FIJAIS). “He was spotted in Annecy before fleeing to Switzerland,” reports a source close to the investigation. He was probably trying to reach another country before being arrested.

Philippine’s drama

Philippine’s body was found Saturday in the Bois de Boulogne, near Avenue Chantemesse, just a few hundred meters from her Paris-Dauphine university. She disappeared after lunch around 2 p.m., and her relatives organized a search that led to the macabre discovery. Philippine, a third-year student in economics and financial engineering, lived near her establishment.

Source: Europe 1