On Tuesday, the president of the court asked the defendant whether he killed Ana Lopes. The man denied all charges levied against him. The trial will continue over 16 sessions through to the beginning of April.
Ana Lopes, whose burnt corpse was found in her car in Roussy-le-Village in France, was reported missing by her mother. On the night of her murder, the 25 year old had sent her mother a text saying she would go to a fast food restaurant before heading back home in Bonnevoie. She never made it. French police reported a burnt out car in the woods, with the charred remains of a body inside.
There was talk about issues with Lopes's ex-boyfriend, the defendant. The couple, who had a son together, had ended their relationship in 2016. At the beginning of the investigation, it was revealed that the defendant's car was spotted in the victim's neighbourhood before she went missing. Her current boyfriend also mentioned that Lopes had received threats from her ex-boyfriend. The couple's relationship was on the rocks as far back as October 2016, with incidents of physical violence. The fact that the defendant - incarcerated in Schrassig since June 2017 - hadn't contacted her for while, made Ana Lopes suspicious that he was planning something. The defendant had also written that Lopes's day would come, and that he felt like burning an ex-girlfriend of his in a car in a forest.
The autopsy revealed that the victim was already dead by the time the car was set on fire. After her sister found a fast food bag with traces of blood near the house, it quickly became clear that Ana Lopes had been killed in Bonnevoie. It is still unclear how the defendant returned from France after setting the car on fire.
The trial continues on Wednesday afternoon.
