A murder probe has been launched after the body of a 12-year-old girl was found inside a suitcase in Paris.
The child was reported missing by her parents on Friday afternoon after she failed to return home from school.
The teenager’s mother reported her missing to the local police station in the city’s northeastern 19th arrondissement at around 5pm after growing concerned for her safety.
Prosecutors said the suitcase was discovered later that evening at the foot of the building in which she lived.
The girl’s face was covered in tape and she had several cuts to her throat, prosecutors said.
Four people have been taken into custody in the connection with the incident, including the man who alerted police to the suitcase.
A post-mortem examination will take place later on Saturday. No details as to the cause of her death have been released.
Parisian authorities have launched an investigation into the “murder of a minor under the age of 15”.
