“The defendant, the partner of one of the two victims, was arrested by the gendarmerie in the family restaurant opposite the apartment where the facts a priori took place”, specified to AFP the prosecutor of the Republic of Béziers, Raphaël Balland, confirming initial information from the daily Free lunch.
Placed in police custody around 7:00 p.m., the young man would have immediately explained to his relatives “having done something stupid”, explained Mr. Balland, stressing that “the nature of the weapon remains to be determined, even if he probably acts as a knife.
The second victim, whose identity had not yet been determined by investigators on Friday evening, “could be a next-door neighbor of the young woman targeted,” said the prosecutor.
Neither the alleged murderer nor his companion were known to the police or gendarmerie, “whether as the perpetrator or as the victim”, insisted the Béziers prosecutor. The family of the young woman confirmed to the investigators that they had never heard of either a blow or a threat against her.
According to the latest report from the Ministry of the Interior, 102 women died under the blows of their spouse or ex-spouse in 2020. They were 146 in 2019.
If this femicide is confirmed, it would be at least the fifth this year, after four women killed since January 1 by their companion or former companion, in Maine-et-Loire, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Seine-Saint- Denis and Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes.