A man was handed over to French justice in mid-July after his incarceration in Italy, according to information from The voice of the North. He is suspected of having killed his partner before fleeing with his daughter in June in Dunkirk (North).
Arrested on June 8 in Civitavecchia in the northwest of Rome, a few hours after the triggering of a kidnapping alert for little Malek, the defendant Jamel Y., had been imprisoned in the city prison.
An open judicial inquiry
The eight-year-old girl, from a first union of this man, had been found safe and sound and entrusted to the Italian social services.
It was during the discovery of the lifeless body of the companion of Jamel Y. that the disappearance of the child had been noted. The mother of the latter had alerted the authorities, worried about the silence of her daughter, had indicated the public prosecutor of Dunkirk Sébastien Piève.
Judicial information had been opened for “voluntary homicide by spouse” and “kidnapping of a 15-year-old minor”.
The defendant planned to reach Tunisia
According to the prosecutor, the autopsy revealed that the victim had died of “asphyxiation” after “strangulation”. She also bore numerous bruises.
Two other children, aged 2 years and 7 months, were present at the mother’s home, a third aged 7 being with his grandmother.
The defendant had plans to go to Tunisia where he is from, according to the prosecutor.
Magali Caillat of the judicial police points out to AFP that this investigation was “a race against time”. In total, “more than 300 calls were received and 72 testimonials verified”.
In France, according to official figures, a woman dies every three days from the violence of her spouse or ex-spouse.