A major surprise in the Le Tan affair.
According to information from BFMTV confirmed in
Le Figaro
by a judicial source, Jean-Marc Reiser admitted Tuesday, January 19 to having killed Sophie Le Tan on September 7, 2018 in Schiltigheim (Bas-Rhin).
The only suspect has so far denied the murder of the young woman, despite the
"overwhelming charges"
against him.
Read also: Sophie Le Tan case: the judge has completed her investigation, according to the civil party lawyer
On September 7, 2018, the student, who is about to begin her third year of studies in economics and management at the University of Strasbourg, celebrates her 20th birthday.
Before joining her parents to celebrate her birthday, she goes to visit an apartment spotted online ... and does not give any more news.
A judicial investigation is then opened for "kidnapping" and "sequestration".
On September 15, investigators arrested and took into custody a certain Jean-Marc Reiser, previously sentenced to fifteen years in prison for rape.
The fifty-year-old is indicted for "kidnapping", "sequestration" and "murder", then placed in pre-trial detention.
The suspect has long denied the facts
Telephone data, traces of blood found in the apartment, on a saw and on a pair of shoes, research on foreign countries not extraditing French citizens ... The elements are accumulating against the suspect, who nevertheless claims his innocence, claiming that the student went up to his house to treat a hand injury, then left.
On several occasions, Jean-Marc Reiser even asks for his release, which is systematically refused to him.
Its position does not change, including when the remains of Sophie Le Tan is found dismembered on October 23, 2019 in the forest, in the area of Grendelbruch (Bas-Rhin).
To read also: Affair Sophie Le Tan: the body found in the forest is that of the young woman
His confession of January 19 is therefore a real surprise.
According to a judicial source, it is the defendant himself who asked to be heard by the investigating judge in charge of the case.
It was during this hearing, which took place Tuesday morning, that he admitted having killed the young woman, but also having dismembered her and hiding her corpse.