On Sunday 28 June, a 27-year-old man was discovered dead in a house in Merl. The prosecutor has now revealed the victim was a Belgian national, and his suspected killer a Frenchman who lived with his father on Rue Saint-Gengoul.
According to the report, the French national, also aged 27, met the victim outside his own home and invited him back to his for a meal. The prosecutor said there was no other apparent link between the two men prior to this meeting on Sunday.
During the meal, the suspect is said to have taken a knife and attacked the victim, for reasons as yet unexplained, leaving him with fatal injuries. He was arrested and has been in pre-trial detention since.
The investigation is ongoing, including psychiatric analysis. To date there have been no indications that the victim caused any infraction leading to an altercation.
As always, the presumption of innocence applies until a verdict is reached.
