According to the Reims public prosecutor's office, a 25-year-old was jailed on Sunday after confessing to the killing of a 79-year-old woman whom he had intended to rob in her home in Châlons-en-Champagne.
The young man personally knew the victim before the violent incident as he had carried out "various painting jobs" for the 79-year-old in the past. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that the defendant repeatedly expressed remorse when he confessed to the crime last Sunday.
The 25-year-old told police and the examining magistrate that he had quit his job in February and faced mounting debts since. He reportedly decided to burglar the elderly victim to pay his debts.
He pretended to still be an employee of the company that had previously carried out various jobs at the victim's home to gain access to her apartment last Tuesday. He then "without using violence, managed to lead her into a room [...] hoping to be able to rob the other rooms," he explained.
According to the defendant, she then fell and he hit her in the head with his elbow. The public prosector's office explained in its statement that he then strangled her with an electric wire after seeing her convulsing on the ground. He reportedly continued to search the apartment after her death but eventually took off without stealing any items.
The young man spent the next day in Luxembourg with his mother and his girlfriend. He later confessed to the crime to his mother and his brother before turning himself in.
