A 61-year-old man was killed with a knife this Saturday evening in Béziers (Hérault). His next-door neighbor, a 22-year-old young woman, was arrested and taken into custody for murder. The circumstances of the tragedy remain unclear at this stage.
Emergency services were called early in the evening to a building located on rue Guilhemon. On site, a man seriously injured by a stab wound to the mouth, having severed his carotid artery, was discovered. Despite rescuers' attempts, the victim did not survive his injuries. “A lot of blood was found on site, particularly in the stairwell and in the apartment of his next-door neighbor”specified Raphaël Balland, public prosecutor of Béziers, in a press release this Sunday.
The suspect was with her 6-year-old daughter
The suspect, covered in blood, was arrested by the police near the building. She was with her six-year-old daughter, who had no injuries. The young woman was taken into police custody after being sedated in the emergency room of Béziers hospital. “The young child was hospitalized in the pediatric department, while her mother was taken into custody on suspicion of murder”confirmed the prosecutor.
The first findings were carried out by the scientific police of the Béziers police station and the Montpellier judicial police. “The investigations are currently entrusted to the Béziers police station in order to establish the course of the facts and their circumstances” said Raphaël Balland.
“I saw my neighbor leaving barefoot with her daughter, shouting: help me, help me”
According to witnesses, noises and screams were heard before the tragedy. “I heard a noise when I came home from shopping”testifies a neighbor, Free Midday. “As is common upstairs, I went home. But the screaming was worse. There were sounds of blows. Then, I saw my neighbor leaving barefoot with her daughter, shouting: 'help me, help me'”. Another resident, who tried to alert the emergency services, described a macabre scene: “The blood was spurting, I didn’t know what to do. It was everywhere”.
The second floor of the building, where the tragedy took place, shows omnipresent traces of blood. The victim's door shows blade marks, broken in certain places. According to some residents, the young woman arrested was known for her behavioral problems. “She had a big behavioral problem. Her daughter had even already been taken away from her”. The profile of the victim, a farm worker, is that of a man without history. “He was really a good man. He was still pruning the vines this summer”confided a neighbor.
The continuation of the investigations will make it possible to determine the circumstances of the murder and the precise course of the events.
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