A decapitated body, which could be that of a minor under 13 years old who had disappeared for days, was found in Tarascon (southeastern France) on Sunday night, with marks that could indicate cannibalistic acts.
The alleged perpetrator of this homicide was killed by the police when he fled.
The beheaded body and the head of the victim were discovered around 9:30 pm GMT on Sunday in a department of Tarascon, the prosecutor of this city of 15,000 inhabitants north of Marseille told AFP.
“Investigators linked this department to the disappearance of a minor from his home in Marseille a few days ago,” said Laurent Gumbau, the prosecutor.
The body had shreds of skin torn from the back, but it is “impossible to confirm the hypothesis of anthropophagy in the current state of the investigation,” Gumbau added.
The tenant of the apartment, a 32-year-old man “known for his psychiatric problems” and previously convicted of violent acts, fled through the roof of the building, according to the testimony of neighbors, and was killed by a police shot for three more hours late.
Pending the autopsy of the two bodies, no affinity link could be established between the victim found in the Tarascon department and the tenant, prosecutor Gumbau insisted.