A couple living in Gondrexange, Moselle, was charged with "murder", "concealment of a corpse" and "attack on the integrity of a corpse", and placed in pre-trial detention this Saturday afternoon, Le Figaro learned from the Metz prosecutor's office, which has opened a judicial investigation. On Wednesday, December 20, firefighters had intervened at their home to extinguish an initial fire and discovered a metal trunk containing a corpse.
At this stage, the victim has not yet been identified, but forensic examinations have determined that he is a relatively young man. The autopsy report concluded that the death was "violentand not accidental", without defining the exact cause. "Further analysis must be carried out," the prosecutor's office stressed.
Questioned by the gendarmes during their 48 hours in police custody, the 49-year-old man and his 35-year-old wife gave "few explanations" about the presence of the body in their home, the prosecutor's office said. Who is the victim? How long had she been with them and why? It remains to be seen whether the couple, unknown to the justice system, will open up more in front of the investigating judge. Their two children were placed in temporary care.