A woman was found dead at the marital home where her companion died shortly after, near Uzès (Gard), said Sunday the prosecutor of Nîmes Cécile Gensac who opened an investigation for "
intentional homicide on spouse followed by suicide
".
The woman "
died of gunshot wounds and stab wounds
," said prosecutor Cécile Gensac in a statement, adding that the companion was found by the gendarmes "
seriously injured by gunfire, a hunting rifle found at his side
”, before dying despite the first aid provided.
Both children cared for
Around 8 p.m., "
several stab wounds
" were stabbed at the woman of about 35 who was also hit by gunfire "
in the couple's home in Montaren-et-Saint-Médiers, rural town north of Nîmes
”
,
indicated a source close to the investigation to AFP who specified that one of their children gave the alert to a neighbor.
Police and firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before 10 p.m.
The man, aged around 38, was "
known to the courts
", according to the prosecutor of Nîmes, for aggravated thefts and had been implicated for minor violence.
"
The couple's two children, aged 9 and 13, were taken care of by the crisis unit
,
"
said the Nîmes prosecutor's office
, and
"
were welcomed
" by the pediatric emergency department at the hospital.
"
No other person seems to be implicated in the course of events
," said the prosecutor.
Autopsies are to be carried out on Tuesday, according to the source close to the investigation.
In 2021, 122 women were killed in France under the blows of their spouse or ex-spouse, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.