French investigators have charged a woman suspected of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl whose body was found in a trunk in Paris on Friday. A judge ordered that she be held in provisional custody.
The main suspect, identified as a 24-year-old woman suffering from psychiatric disorders, was questioned earlier Monday alongside an older man suspected of sheltering her.
The 24-year-old has been charged with the rape and murder of a minor aged under 15 along with torture and abuse, a source close to the case told French news agency AFP.
Prosecutors said in a press release Monday that under questioning, the woman made "varying statements, switching between admitting and denying the facts of the case."
But she eventually said she had brought the girl - identified only by her first name, Lola - to her sister's apartment in the same building, where she forced her to take a shower.
The woman said she had then "committed harm of a sexual nature and other violent acts against (Lola) that caused her death, and hid her body in the trunk," prosecutors said.
Rumours
According to the autopsy, the young girl died due to "cardio-respiratory failure with signs of asphyxia and cervical compression".
Other non-fatal wounds were found on her face and back as well as large gashes on her neck, and the numbers 0 and 1 were written in red on the soles of each of her feet.
"Investigations are continuing to determine exactly what happened (and) to establish the criminal responsibility of the people involved," prosecutors added.
The suspect's lawyer Alexandre Silva expressed sympathy for Lola's family, before calling on the press not to report "rumours" and insisting on the presumption of innocence for his client.
The 43-year-old man also questioned in custody on Monday admitted that he brought the 24-year-old woman to his home with the trunk and two suitcases, where he said she stayed for two hours before leaving again in a chauffeur-driven car he had called for her.
Security cameras
The main suspect was arrested on Saturday in Bois-Colombes in Paris' northwestern suburbs, after investigators tracked her movements on CCTV cameras from the building and the surrounding area as well as using phone records and physical searches.
Lola's parents had called police after their daughter did not return from middle school on Friday afternoon and posted a message on Facebook.
Her father, the caretaker of the building in Paris' 19th district, said when he checked the CCTV recording, he saw his daughter “in the company of a girl we do not know in our residence".
A homeless man was the first to discover the body around 11pm on Friday evening, which sources familiar with the investigation said was hidden under cloths in a plastic box in the building's courtyard.
Motive unclear
Six people, including the suspect's sister and others who had contact with her in the time immediately following the killing were placed in custody in relation to the case, with four since released.
France Info reported that, according to another source, the main suspect is an Algerian national who arrived legally in France in 2016 with a student residence permit.
On 21 August, she was arrested at an airport by the police who found that she had no residence permit and was issued a OQTF (obligation to leave French territory).
The woman had made herself known to the police as a victim of domestic violence in 2018, said the same source. She has no other criminal record.
As in all criminal cases, experts will be called in to establish the woman’s state of mental health and the possibility of criminal irresponsibility.
As to the motive, investigators are looking into an argument between the main suspect and the parents of Lola, guardians of the building. They allegedly refused to give her an access badge to the building.
While revenge may be behind the act, police haven’t ruled out the hypothesis of a gratuitous act.
Local residents placed flowers at the gate of the family's building over the weekend.
Meanwhile, school authorities have announced they will set up psychological aid for staff and pupils at Lola's school and others in the area.
(with newswires)
