The woman considered the main suspect in the death of Lola, a 12-year-old schoolgirl discovered Friday in a trunk in Paris, was indicted on Monday for murder of a minor under 15 and rape committed with acts of torture and barbarism, we learned from a source familiar with the matter. This 24-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday morning in Bois-Colombes in the Hauts-de-Seine.
“Murder of a minor under the age of 15”
According to a source familiar with the matter, she was indicted for “murder of a minor under the age of 15” and “rape committed with acts of torture and barbarity”. A judicial investigation relating to these two criminal offenses and the offense of concealment of a corpse has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office, said a judicial source. The prosecution has requested the remand in custody of the woman as well as a man, she added.
The debate before the judge of freedoms and detention (JLD), who must rule on this question, began shortly after 6 p.m. Wavy brown hair pulled up in a bun, the woman considered the main suspect showed up with a blue tracksuit, a gray T-shirt and a light sweatshirt on the shoulders, noted an AFP journalist.
The suspect was arrested at dawn on Saturday in Bois-Colombes in the Hauts-de-Seine. The camera was quickly pronounced for the serenity and confidentiality of the debates. This young woman, who would suffer from mental disorders, had been seen on the images of the surveillance cameras of the building where the schoolgirl lived.
The other suspect believed to have harbored the suspect
A witness also reported the presence of this woman, who would have requested her help for a fee to move a bulky trunk, according to several media. Aged 43, the man who was also to be presented to a magistrate during the day, is suspected of having hosted and transported the suspect. The parents of the teenager, worried about not seeing her return from college on Friday afternoon, had alerted the police to the disappearance of their daughter, as well as the presence of this unknown young woman in the residence, located in the 19th district of Paris.
It was finally a 42-year-old homeless man who discovered an opaque plastic box containing the body of the teenager, in the interior courtyard of the building where Lola’s family resides. The body of the schoolgirl was concealed by fabrics, according to sources close to the file. Two cabin suitcases were placed next to the trunk. The autopsy performed on Saturday determined that Lola had died of asphyxiation, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The first findings had reported significant neck wounds.
A total of six people were taken into custody as part of the investigation by the Criminal Brigade of the Parisian judicial police. Four of them have been released without prosecution at this stage.
A “terrible ordeal”
Multiple investigations were carried out in order to establish the sequence of events and the motive of the perpetrators. During the weekend, many residents showed their sadness and fear by placing flowers on the gate of the residence of the victim’s family and a low wall leading to the building, noted an AFP journalist.
The rectorate announced the establishment of psychological support cells for students and for staff at the college where Lola was educated and schools in the area. Monday morning, the mayor of the 19th arrondissement, François Dagnaud, went to the Georges-Brassens college where Lola was educated. “This college, this school community and an entire neighborhood is going through a terrible ordeal,” he said.
A psychological cell was offered to the inhabitants of the district “because the emotion is at its height”, announced the mayor. The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye visited the establishment on Monday.