Body of woman found in car on A8: driver held in custody for murder
The body of a Brazilian woman was discovered hidden under plastic bags in a vehicle stopped by customs officers on the A8 motorway in the Var department. The driver, born in 1997, is held in custody on suspicion of murder of an ex-partner.
Body found on A8 in Var: suspect held in custody for murder of ex-partner
It was a routine customs check that led to a macabre discovery, according to TF1 Info. On Monday 21 September, in the early afternoon, customs officers inspected a vehicle at the Cambarette Nord service area, near Brignoles in the Var, on the A8 motorway heading towards Aix-en-Provence. Beneath plastic bags, they found the lifeless body of a woman.
The driver of the vehicle, a man born in 1997, was immediately apprehended. Meanwhile, a man arrived at Nice police station to report the worrying disappearance of one of his friends: a young woman born in 2001, of Brazilian nationality, living on rue Lenval in Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes department. He stated that he had gone to her home in the early afternoon that same Monday and had seen a man "leaving it with belongings". He also noted that "the flat appeared to have been recently cleaned", according to the statement by the prosecutor of the Republic for Nice, Damien Martinelli.
A flagrante delicto inquiry for murder was opened simultaneously at the Brignoles investigation unit and at the local judicial police service in Nice. The identification of the victim made it possible to connect the two cases. According to Martinelli, "the initial investigative findings (…) established that the events appeared to have taken place in Nice before the suspect left the city, possibly heading towards Savoy, from which he originates". The magistrate also clarifies that "the latter and the victim had maintained a conjugal relationship".
The initial medical examination of the body revealed "several traumatic injuries and wounds caused by a sharp weapon". An autopsy was ordered to determine the precise causes of death.
In the early afternoon, the suspect's custodial detention was extended. Prosecutor Martinelli indicates that the person in question had previously been convicted "for numerous traffic offences and breaches of drug legislation". The investigation is now proceeding under the charge of "murder of an ex-partner".
Source: TF1 Info