Double murder in Lagor: nonagenarian charged admits to shooting neighbours
A 90-year-old man suspected of killing an elderly couple in Lagor on 22 September has admitted to the facts whilst in police custody and has been remanded in custody.
Police custody, confessions and remand in custody following double murder in Lagor
A 90-year-old man has been charged with murder and remanded in custody following the deaths of an elderly couple in Lagor, near Mourenx, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The Pau prosecutor, Rodolphe Jarry, released these details on Thursday 24 September, according to ici.fr.
The incident occurred on Tuesday 22 September, shortly after 20:00. An 85-year-old man and his 82-year-old wife were found dead in their garden, after residents of the village heard several gunshots. Gendarmes from Orthez apprehended the suspect at the scene and immediately placed him in police custody.
During questioning, the nonagenarian admitted to the facts. He stated that he had used his weapon "whilst standing approximately three metres from the victims", the prosecutor's statement specifies. He fired "twice in the direction of his neighbour before reloading and then firing at his neighbour's wife".
To justify his actions, the suspect cited "a long-standing conflict that had existed between him and his neighbours". He claims to have been struck by his neighbour during the evening of the incident "with two blows to the head" and to have seized a rifle "fearing he would be subjected to further violence". Examined by a doctor, the nonagenarian does indeed present two head wounds, according to the same statement.
An autopsy of the two victims' bodies is to be carried out on Friday 25 September at the medico-legal institute in Toulouse.
Residents of the municipality had already described, before these revelations, persistent tensions between the suspect and his neighbours for several years. The mayor of Lagor had also mentioned a neighbourly dispute that had gradually escalated.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)