Death of Lyhanna, 11: main suspect summoned before investigating judge
Jérôme Barella, 41, is to be questioned on Wednesday by an investigating magistrate in Agen with a view to being prosecuted for rape and homicide of a minor.
Death of Lyhanna, 11: main suspect summoned before investigating judge
A man in his forties suspected of abducting and killing an eleven-year-old schoolgirl in the Gers department is to be interviewed on Wednesday by a magistrate from the judicial division in Agen. The purpose of this summons is to charge him with homicide and sexual assault of a minor, confirmed to TF1 Info by Republic Prosecutor Olivier Naboulet.
This man, aged forty-one, who works as a temporary worker in agriculture, was remanded in custody at the end of May on charges of abduction and unlawful confinement. Gendarmerie officers apprehended him on Saturday 30 May, twenty-four hours after the young girl was last seen leaving her school in Fleurance.
At least one person had told investigators they had seen the child get into the vehicle of this father of two, who maintained links with the victim through his daughter, who was a schoolmate of the victim. During his forty-eight-hour period in police custody, the man denied any responsibility for the disappearance, claiming he had dropped the child off outside the swimming centre in the municipality, a facility that was in fact closed on Friday 29 May.
The lifeless body of the girl was subsequently found in an agricultural storage facility located approximately fifteen kilometres from Fleurance, in the locality of Puycasquier. The conclusions of the post-mortem examination showed that the child had been the victim of sexual abuse, although the precise cause of death could not be determined with certainty according to the prosecutor's office.
The criminal record of this man contains no convictions, but he had been the subject of two complaints for comparable offences against minors in 2022 and 2025. Since this matter, multiple gaps have been revealed in the handling of this case, and several investigations are underway to clarify these failures.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)