A burglary gone wrong? An octogenarian and his 57-year-old daughter-in-law were killed by a 38-year-old homeless man who had entered their home in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone (Hérault) to probably commit a theft there, the prosecution said on Friday.
“The author was apprehended while he was still in the house. Aged 38, he is of Spanish nationality. He is homeless and has a nomadic life, ”said the deputy prosecutor of Montpellier, Laurent Fekkar. A judicial investigation was opened and the man was remanded in custody.
The mental state of the suspect “questions”
The bodies of the octogenarian and that of the daughter of his deceased wife were discovered on Sunday December 18 in the house they shared. The gendarmes intervened at the request of the family, who were worried about not having any news.
At this stage of the investigation, the prosecution does not “know precisely when the facts took place or even their chronology”, indicated the prosecution.
The suspect, “whose mental state raises questions”, according to the prosecution, “did not provide a rational explanation for his acting out” but “acknowledged the facts”. He came from Italy and got off the train at Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone station, not far from the victims’ house. There was “no family, friendly or professional link between the author and the victims”, assured the prosecution.