Was it to allow his companion to pay her contribution for the afterlife?
The body of a 63-year-old woman was found in Nogent-le-Roi (Eure-et-Loir) on her bed in her apartment, with coins on her eyes.
According to the first elements of the investigation, it was his companion, born in 1964, who contacted the firefighters.
His body had been cleaned.
The man was indicted for homicide of a spouse and harm to the physical integrity of a corpse, according to Chartres public prosecutor Frédéric Chevallier, confirming information from L'Écho Républicain.
He was placed in pre-trial detention after the discovery of the body of his partner in Nogent-le-Roi (Eure-et-Loir), we learned Thursday from the prosecution.
The cause of death could be asphyxiation.
An autopsy was scheduled for this Thursday at the Garches Medico-Legal Institute (Hauts-de-Seine).
“His story raises questions”, according to the prosecutor
The main suspect had already been sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder in 2010. In 2021, the Chartres court also sentenced him to two years in prison for a sexual assault on his partner.
The couple had resumed a relationship, the prosecutor said.
The man denied his involvement in the crime.
“There is still no explanation.
The suspect's explanations are unreasonable.
His story raises questions,” the prosecutor told AFP.
But what could have pushed the accused to place these pieces?
What rite did he apply?
Is he versed in esotericism?
Almost no details have filtered out about the deceased's toilet.
But it was nevertheless mentioned by the prosecution.
A viaticum for which kingdom of the dead?
In ancient times, the Greeks placed coins on the eyes, mouth or chest of the dead.
The mite was intended for the ferryman Charon, the one who crosses the Styx, this river of mythology which separated the terrestrial world from the underworld.
Those who could not pay were condemned to wander its banks for a hundred years.
The rite continued in Europe, the coins being either placed on the eyeballs or inserted into the mouth of the dead.
Pieces dating from the 3rd century were found during excavations in Vienne.
Today, the obole is still practiced in certain African societies south of the Sahara.
On average, a feminicide occurs every three days in France.
The Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti announced at the beginning of January the figure of 94 femicides in 2023, compared to 118 in 2022, a drop welcomed with caution by feminist associations.