A Belgian national confessed to having killed with a rifle bullet in the back, before burying the body, his ex-companion reported missing since Monday, November 16 in Mont-Saint-Martin (Meurthe-et-Moselle), said Thursday, November 19 the public prosecutor of Nancy François Perain.
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The 68-year-old man, already convicted in 2003 for violence against an ex-girlfriend, was presented to an examining magistrate for "
kidnapping, kidnapping or arbitrary detention, and murder,
" said the same source. , adding that a warrant of committal would be required against the accused.
The body of the disappeared was found Thursday afternoon by the Belgian authorities.
He was buried a few hundred meters from the place indicated by the detainee, said François Perain.
Monday, November 16, the Longwy police had been informed of the disappearance of France Gérard, 54, born in Belgium.
She left in the morning by car with her dog to drop off her daughter, Fanny, 14, at school in Arlon (Belgium).
She was scheduled to return afterwards to find the teenager.
Which she hadn't done.
The victim was worried for his safety
According to the testimonies of his relatives, in the morning, France Gérard, who had visited his son in Aubange (Belgium), feared for his life: "
If something happens to me, take care of Fanny
", had -she confided during a conversation.
The investigation opened by the police immediately turned to his former companion, who initially denied before admitting the facts, especially when the forensic analyzes revealed blood on his clothes.
According to the Eastern Republican, "
It was then discovered, in the caravan occupied by the former companion, in Belgium, a blanket and four bloody handkerchiefs, as well as a 22 LR rifle case
", detailed the public prosecutor from Nancy.
His version is that of an accidental shot.
He thus recounted having gone to the victim's home in Mont-Saint-Martin, having waited for her in his garage because she was not there, garage where he found a rifle "
loaded and fitted with a silencer.
», Explained the prosecutor.
According to the defendant, France Gérard on his return got scared and started running.
It was by following her that the defendant claimed "to
have slipped
" and that "
the gunshot went off by itself
", hitting the victim fatally in the back, explained the prosecutor.
Then the detainee admitted to having "
panicked
", to having "
rolled up the body in a tarp to go and bury it in a clearing
" in Belgium "
in a hole
" that he "
dug
".
He assured to have acted alone, added the magistrate.
