Woman charged in Paris with brutal murder of 12-year-old

Woman charged in Paris with brutal murder of 12-year-old

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Parisian investigators on Monday charged a woman suspected of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl whose body was found in a suitcase on Friday, a source close to the case told AFP.

The prime suspect, identified as a 24-year-old woman with a psychiatric disorder, was questioned Monday alongside an elderly man suspected of harboring her.

The 24-year-old was charged with the rape and murder of a minor under the age of 15, as well as torture and ill-treatment, the source said.

A judge ordered her to be taken into temporary custody.

Prosecutors said in a press release on Monday that the woman “made mixed statements, alternating between admitting and denying the facts of the case” during questioning.

But she eventually said she took the girl – identified only by her first name, Lola – to her sister’s flat in the same building, where she forced her to take a shower.

The woman said she then “committed sexual harm and other acts of violence against[Lola]that caused her death and hid her body in the trunk,” prosecutors said.

According to the autopsy, the young girl died of “cardiopulmonary failure with evidence of asphyxia and cervical compression.”

Other non-fatal wounds were found on her face and back, as well as large wounds on her neck, and the numbers 0 and 1 were written in red on the soles of her feet.

“The investigation continues to determine exactly what happened (and) to establish the criminal liability of those involved,” prosecutors added.

The suspect’s lawyer, Alexandre Silva, expressed his condolences to Lola’s family before urging the press not to publish “rumours” and insisting on his client’s presumption of innocence.

The 43-year-old man, who was also taken into custody on Monday, admitted he took the 24-year-old woman to his home with the suitcase and two suitcases, where she stayed for two hours before returning with a chauffeur left the car he had called for her.

– Spotted on CCTV –

The main suspect was arrested in Bois-Colombes, in the northwest Paris suburbs, on Saturday after investigators tracked her movements on surveillance cameras in and around the building, as well as phone records and physical searches.

Lola’s parents called the police after their daughter failed to return from middle school Friday afternoon.

Her father, the manager of the building, was concerned when he saw the unidentified woman enter the building in Paris’s 19th arrondissement with his daughter while he was checking CCTV recordings.

An eyewitness who also saw the suspect at the scene said she offered him money to help her move a large suitcase, multiple media outlets reported.

But a homeless man was the first to spot the body, which sources familiar with the investigation said was hidden under cloths in a plastic box in the building’s courtyard.

Six people, including the suspect’s sister and others who had contact with her in the immediate aftermath of the killing, have been arrested in connection with the case and four have since been released.

– ‘Time of Mourning’ –

Local residents laid flowers at the gate of the family home over the weekend.

Meanwhile, school authorities have announced that they will provide psychological support to staff and students at Lola’s school and others in the area.

A mother told AFP that her daughter, another student who knew Lola by sight, “isn’t feeling well today, she doesn’t want to go to school.”

“Today is mourning and the investigation, which seems to be progressing quickly,” said the mayor of the 19th district, Francois Dagnaud, during a visit to the Georges Brassens school.

“Importantly, the prime suspect has been arrested for now, there is no psychopath roaming the streets of this neighborhood,” he added, after local parents reported concerns about their children’s safety.

“Obviously the fact that a 12-year-old child can die in such circumstances is overwhelming for everyone,” he added, saying the advice would also be offered to local residents.

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