Murder and dismemberment in Paris: 27 years in prison for Lakhdar Matoug
A 53-year-old man has been found guilty of killing and dismembering his wife before abandoning the pieces in a park in the capital.
Murder and dismemberment in Paris: 27 years in prison for Lakhdar Matoug
The capital's assize court has imposed a sentence of twenty-seven years in prison on Lakhdar Matoug, found guilty of murdering his wife Assia. After her death, he severed the body using a DIY tool purchased specifically in south-east Paris, then disposed of the various parts in bags at Buttes-Chaumont park and on wasteland in Bobigny.
The public prosecutor had called for this sentence, which was endorsed by the jury. The defence failed to persuade the court that the homicide was involuntary. They argued the case of accidental suffocation. However, forensic pathologists demonstrated that compression of the neck had lasted several minutes, well beyond the duration described by the defendant.
The couple, who were raising three children in a flat in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), had arrived in France from Algeria. Their marital life and finances were on the brink of breakdown. A quarrel is believed to have triggered the tragedy. After taking his partner's life, Matoug placed the lifeless body on the sofa and told the children not to disturb their mother, claiming she was asleep and unwell.
The investigation revealed repeated journeys between the family home and the park, a missing person report filed with police, and text messages simulated requesting where Assia was. It was only at the third interrogation in custody, fifteen days after the facts, that he admitted his responsibility.
Source: 20 Minutes
Source: Google News LU FR