French cold case: Ex-police officer linked to rapes, murders

PARIS – One of France’s biggest unsolved transgression cases appears to person been cracked – and the decades-long hunt for a fishy successful aggregate rapes and killings during the 1980s and 1990s led to a erstwhile constabulary officer.

Prosecutors announced precocious Thursday that DNA from a 59-year-old retired serviceman corresponded to familial traces recovered astatine the country of aggregate crimes successful the 1980s and 1990s.

The horrors began with the rape of an 8-year-old miss successful 1986 and continued with 5 different rapes, a kidnapping and 4 slayings, mostly of underage girls.

After 35 years of digging, investigators determined that the fishy had worked arsenic a gendarme successful the Paris portion betwixt 1986 and 1994, and summoned 750 existent oregon erstwhile officers for questioning this week.

One, identified successful French media arsenic Francois V., did not amusement up, and was declared missing by his wife, according to a connection by the Paris prosecutor’s office. He was recovered dormant successful an flat successful the Mediterranean seaside edifice of Grau-du Roi from an evident medicine overdose.

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A missive was recovered adjacent his assemblage admitting helium had committed gruesome, unspecified crimes, according to Paris police.

After DNA testing, the prosecutor’s bureau confirmed that his familial illustration corresponded to that recovered astatine respective transgression scenes.

The 8-year-old miss who is the archetypal known unfortunate was approached successful the elevator of her gathering connected April 8, 1986, by a antheral who identified himself arsenic a constabulary officer, past took her to the basement and raped and strangled her. The girl, Sarah, mislaid consciousness, but did not die.

A period later, an 11-year-old miss named Cecile was raped and killed successful the basement of her Paris flat building. Her half-brother crossed paths with the fishy and described him to investigators, allowing accumulation of a constabulary sketch that hung for years successful galore constabulary stations astir France.

But constabulary had nary leads, truthful the probe was closed successful 1992. In 1996, a caller justice reopened the lawsuit and ordered a familial investigation of the evidence, which made it imaginable to get the suspect’s DNA.

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The aforesaid familial illustration was recovered successful respective different cases: the sidesplitting of a 21-year-old German au brace successful 1987, and her employer. The rape of a 14-year-old miss successful 1987 successful Paris. The kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old miss successful a wood successful Mitry, successful the eastbound suburbs of Paris, successful 1994. And the sidesplitting of a 19-year-old pistillate successful 1994 successful different forest.

Investigators looked successful each directions implicit the years but couldn’t find the perpetrator. Magistrates moved on, and others took implicit the case.

Francois V had so worked arsenic a gendarme and a constabulary officer, and arsenic a municipality councilor successful the municipality of Prades-le-Lez successful confederate France.

After this week’s developments, constabulary are present checking his DNA for imaginable links to different unsolved crimes.

The prosecutor's bureau praised the “courage and determination” of researcher Nathalie Turquey, whose efforts to support the lawsuit live helped supply answers astatine past for loved ones of the victims.

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France’s constabulary web launched a “cold cases” portion past year, and a akin effort is nether mode successful the justness strategy to foster practice crossed regions and jurisdictions.

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