French investigators believe they have identified a key suspect in the case of four men whose bodies were pulled from the Seine earlier this month.
The mystery surrounding the grim discovery of four bodies in the River Seine earlier this month is beginning to clear, as French prosecutors have now charged a young homeless man with their murders.
The man, thought to be in his twenties and of North African origin, was brought before a judge in Créteil on Sunday morning following four days in police custody.
His precise identity and nationality remain unclear, but investigators believe he had been living rough along the river.
Prosecutors have asked for him to be held in pre-trial detention, launching a full judicial inquiry into what they describe as “murders committed in concert” – a classification that allows investigators to use extended questioning and special investigative techniques.
The suspect has so far said very little about his background and has declined to comment on the charges. His lawyer, Antoine Ory, has also refused to make a public statement.
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Tracing the links
Investigators say their inquiries have uncovered a link between the suspect and each of the four victims, around the time they went missing.
CCTV footage, phone records and witness testimony placed him near the riverbanks where the bodies were eventually recovered on 13 August.
Those same banks are known both as a spot frequented by local anglers and as a makeshift refuge for some of the homeless population.
Reporters visiting the area described abandoned technical buildings nearby that serve as rough shelters.
The suspect had already attracted police attention earlier this month.
On 5 August he was detained carrying identity papers that later turned out to belong to one of the victims, who at the time had not yet been reported missing.
He was released with a court summons for handling stolen goods. He was also due in court in September for a separate charge of theft from a vehicle.
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The victims
DNA analysis has now confirmed the identities of all four men. Two of them, aged 21 and 26 and originally from Algeria and Tunisia, were themselves homeless and known to spend time near the river.
A third, a 48-year-old Frenchman from Créteil who disappeared on 11 August, was believed to frequent the area, which is known locally as a meeting spot for brief homosexual encounters.
The fourth victim, another 21-year-old Algerian based in Choisy-le-Roi, had been missing since 7 August.
Autopsy results point to strangulation in at least two of the cases, while another body bore a suspicious mark whose cause has yet to be established. Further forensic work is under way to confirm how each man died.
A second man, who was taken into custody last Thursday in connection with two of the victims, has been released without charge. Prosecutors say no evidence currently links him to the killings.
Although many questions remain unanswered, investigators now believe they have a clearer picture of how the victims and the suspect crossed paths along the Seine.
For local residents, the arrests at least mark the beginning of an explanation for a crime that shocked the Val-de-Marne.
