Paris (CNN) - French authorities opened a homicide investigation after a body hidden for 30 years was found in a basement during renovations of a Parisian mansion that sold for 35.1 million euros (about US $ 41, 2 millions).
The property, located in the exclusive 7th arrondissement of central Paris, is completed by an internal courtyard and private gardens.
“Historically, it is an important building. Lots of people lived there, including the poet François Coppée, "Sabine Lebreton, vice president of the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Site de la Rue Oudinot, a local association dedicated to preserving the neighborhood, told CNN.
"It's also about what the place says," he said. "In the back, there is a huge garden, you imagine the receptions and social functions ... It's from another century."
Abandoned since the mid-18th century, the luxurious building was sold in January for 35.1 million euros (about $ 41.2 million).
But in July, reports emerged in the French media that a body had been found in the basement of the Parisian home.
A judicial source told CNN that the Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary murder investigation following the discovery of a man's body in the basement of a building under construction on Oudinot Street in Paris.
Officials said the body was discovered on February 26 and the investigation was commissioned to the criminal unit.
Bruno Picard, the lawyer in charge of the house auction, told CNN: “They found it in a place that had not been visited by either the administrator who made the report or anyone else. No one had visited the basement.
“I received an email from a police officer, I sent it to my website, where I revealed everything I know. They found a dead man, ”said Picard. Apparently it had been there for 30 years. It won't have much of an impact on the rest of this case. Given the time frame… I think the owner is about to start work, ”added Picard.
Barbara Wojazer and Benjamin Berteau reported from Paris. Amy Woodyatt wrote from London.
