Quadruple homicide in Gy in Haute-Saône: a father shoots dead wife and children
Four people were found dead on Wednesday evening in Gy: a 42-year-old man, a 74-year-old woman and two boys aged 6 and 10. The theory of a femicide-infanticide is being favoured.
Four dead in Gy: a father suspected of killing his children and mother-in-law before turning the weapon on himself
Four people were found dead on Wednesday 2 September in the evening in the commune of Gy, in the Haute-Saône department. According to France Info, which gathered information from consistent sources, the favoured theory is that of a man who killed his relatives with a rifle before turning the weapon on himself.
The Vesoul public prosecutor's office confirmed this hypothesis in a statement published Thursday afternoon: "The hypothesis being favoured at this stage of the inquiry is that the father of the family, in the process of separating, would have killed the three other people before turning the weapon on himself."
Alert raised by the father himself
Gendarmes and firefighters were called around 20:00 on Wednesday evening, following gunfire reported in the commune of Gy, located north-west of Besançon. The alert came "after the father of the family reported having killed his children", the Vesoul public prosecutor's office states. At the scene, emergency services discovered four victims.
The bodies of the two adults were found in a bungalow situated on the property. Those of the two children were discovered in a utility vehicle parked nearby. The crime scene, located on land accommodating mobile homes and caravans on the heights of Gy, was sealed off throughout the night.
The victims identified
The public prosecutor's office specified the identity and age of the four victims. The man found dead was 42 years old. The woman, aged 74, was identified as the mother of his wife — that is, the man's mother-in-law. The two children, two boys aged 6 and 10, were identified as the man's sons.
According to the prosecutor's office, "the two children and the 42-year-old man would have been killed with a side-by-side shotgun with a 12-millimetre bore". Autopsies of the four bodies were ordered. Further information reported by ICI Besançon indicates that the grandmother would, for her part, have been killed with a bladed weapon.
An inquiry opened for voluntary homicide
An inquiry was opened for "voluntary homicide" and entrusted to the Vesoul investigation brigade. Nearly fifty gendarmes and around thirty firefighters were mobilised at the scene during the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
Psychological support and collective mourning in Gy
The rector's office confirmed to ICI Besançon the establishment of a psychological support unit at the Catherine-Fraischot educational centre, an establishment where the two children were enrolled. The scheme was also extended to the secondary schools in the commune.
The Town of Gy announced on its Facebook page the cancellation of several events planned for this weekend: the town's sports trophies ceremony, which was to take place Friday evening, as well as the fireworks display scheduled for Saturday evening.
Source: France Info