In the space of two days, the bodies of two men were found five kilometers away from each other, in the Pyrénées-Orientales. One in Canohès, the other in Soler, two towns located about ten kilometers from Perpignan. At this stage of the investigation, two separate investigations have been opened by the prosecution. The first in search of the causes of death, the other for assassination. But there is little doubt that the two cases are linked.
What is the chronology of events?
Worried about being without news, since the day before, of her husband, a real estate agent, his wife contacted the gendarmes on Tuesday morning. They immediately open a procedure for worrying disappearance. By consulting his professional diary, they discover that he had an appointment on Monday, February 27 with a man wishing to sell his villa, in Canohès. He has since given no sign of life. The soldiers go to the seller’s home. For lack of response, they then contact his relatives who give them a disturbing profile. Enough for the soldiers to call for reinforcements and decide to cordon off the area.
Why did Psig and GIGN intervene?
To the gendarmes, his relatives describe him as presenting “a paranoid psychological state, and living with an arsenal of weapons”, detailed, Wednesday during a press conference, the public prosecutor, Jean-David Cavaillé. THE psig (Gendarmerie Surveillance and Intervention Platoon) goes to the scene, quickly supported GIGN (National Gendarmerie intervention group). After vain attempts to get in touch, the decision is made, in the evening, to move into the house. Inside, they discover the corpse of the owner, visibly shot dead. But no trace of the real estate agent. It was not until the next morning, Wednesday, that his body was found in a trailer on land belonging to the seller. “It presented multiple traces, of various natures”, underlined the public prosecutor.
What avenues are being considered?
The owner was unknown to justice. Originally from the North, he seemed to live recluse in this house, which he would have shared with his father for a time, before his death. At this stage of the investigation, two separate procedures have been opened. “The autopsies will take place on March 7 and should allow us to establish the chronology of the facts and the existing links or not between these two deaths”, specified Jean-Daniel Cavaillé. The investigators favor the thesis of an assassination followed by a suicide. A weapon was discovered under the body of the owner of the house of Canohès. The expertise must determine if he used it to kill himself. A document called “Testament” was also found on the spot. However, no track is ruled out. “The objective is to understand the sequence of events, the chronology of these two deaths and the existence of a link, or not, between these two deaths”, underlines the prosecutor.