After surrendering Friday to the police for the murders of his wife and sister-in-law on the background, he said, of "conflictual separation", a 39-year-old man was indicted and imprisoned Sunday, according to the prosecutor's office of Nimes (Gard).
Initially opened at the prosecutor's office of Alès, the investigation was taken over by the prosecutor's office of Nîmes which opened a judicial investigation and gives details on the course of the facts in Salles-du-Gardon.
The mother feared he would take their baby to Morocco
Married since December 2020, mother of a 10-month-old daughter, one of the victims, aged 26, had decided to separate a few months ago from the defendant and had filed a handrail in December "to report that she was leaving the marital home of Cavaillon (Vaucluse), while fearing that the father would take the child to Morocco" where he is from, explains the prosecutor of Nîmes Cécile Gensac in a statement.
Friday, at the home that the young woman occupied for only a few days near Alès, the man first violently argued with his sister-in-law, 39, blaming her for her supposed "influence" and putting "several lethal stab wounds". He then attacked his wife, hitting her in the throat causing her death, details the prosecutor.
He was obliged to "leave the national territory"
In intervention at home and witness of the tragedy, a beautician was summoned by the individual to accompany her to the police station of Alès. On the way, he explained having an "important dispute" with his in-laws, according to the prosecutor's office, which specifies that the investigation will focus on verifying all "statements and arguments". According to the Midi-Libre, he had assured that he had "acted for the good of his child" and that his in-laws were asking him for money to see his daughter.
After a judicial placement at the University Hospital of Nîmes, the baby will be taken care of by the departmental services of child aid, ensures France Bleu.
In an irregular situation, "the individual was administratively obliged to leave the national territory by the prefectures of Drôme and Vaucluse in 2019 and May 2022," adds the prosecutor's office. No criminal proceedings for domestic violence were pending and he has no known criminal record in this regard in France.
It is a new tragedy that strikes the village of Salles-du-Gardon, three months after the body of Sihem Belouahmia, 18, was found in a wood on February 2. The number of femicides increased by 20% in France in 2021 compared to the previous year, with 122 women killed by their spouse or ex-spouse, according to the latest available figures from the Ministry of the Interior.
