A 24-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man have gone to court this Monday as suspects in the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl, last Friday, in Paris, whose body appeared inside a plastic trunk in the courtyard of the same building where the victim lived. The prosecution of the French capital investigates the macabre event as “homicide of a minor under 15 years”, “rape committed with acts of torture and barbarism” and “concealment of the corpse”, three crimes of maximum seriousness.
The murder is surrounded by a great mystery. The first hypothesis is that it was a “free” act, with no clear motive. The alleged perpetrator, described as belonging to a “fringe” background, has no criminal record and was never admitted to a mental health facility, but her behavior and statements raise questions about her psychological profile. She will be examined by experts.
The events have caused commotion in the French capital, where citizen security is a very serious problem and a challenge before the 2024 Olympic Games. The mayor, the socialist Anne Hidalgo, has visited the scene of the crime. So has the Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye. Brigitte Macron, wife of the President of the Republic and former high school teacher, spoke of “an absolutely intolerable and abominable drama.”
The Parisian 19th arrondissement, like the entire north of the capital and the adjacent suburbs, are areas with socially explosive areas. Not far from the street where Lola’s murder took place is the Parc de La Villette, for years a center for the trafficking and consumption of crack, a drug that has become a scourge in the city. These Parisian neighborhoods have nothing to do with the Paris that dazzles tourists with its luxury shops and restaurants. The chaos around the Stade de France and the assaults on fans in the last Champions League final already showed what kind of atmosphere dominates some parts of Paris and its periphery
At first, after Lola’s death was discovered, there was talk of a possible case of human organ trafficking, but that avenue of investigation has been ruled out, police sources told the BFM-TV station. The body, on which there were some enigmatic figures, 0 and 1, was discovered by a homeless man on Friday night. But Lola’s father, a janitor in the building, had already raised the alarm when he viewed the images from the security cameras and realized that his daughter had returned from school. In the video, the suspect was seen with the girl.
The students and parents of the George Brassens Middle School, where Lola was studying, have experienced this Monday with great sadness and anguish the return to class. A psychological support team traveled to the educational center to help the students cope with the tragedy.
