A 33-year-old father suffering from psychiatric disorders and suspected of killing his wife and their four children on Monday evening "in an extremely violent crime scene, was arrested on Tuesday in Sevran, north of Paris.
At around 9.00 p.m. on Christmas Day, the police intervened at the family's home on the first floor of an apartment building in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) , having been alerted by relatives of the victims, public prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier said.
Traces of blood were visible on the landing. Inside, five bodies were discovered: those of the 35-year-old mother and four young children, two girls aged 10 and 7, and two boys aged 4 and 9 months.
"The mother and the two little girls had been the victims of a very large number of stab wounds," the public prosecutor said. No apparent wounds were found on the boys, for whom the hypothesis of suffocation or drowning is being considered. Autopsies will take place on Wednesday.
According to a police source, extensive analysis of CCTV footage led to the identification of the suspect.
Arrested in Sevran (Seine-Saint-Denis) at his father's home, the suspect, a French national, said he "knew why he was in police custody, and spoke of his personal malaise and depression," according to the public prosecutor.
Since 2017, the man has been monitored for depressive and psychotic disorders. Prescriptions for tranquilisers were found at his home. He has been hospitalised in police custody for serious injuries to his hand.
The early stages of the investigation revealed previous acts of violence between the couple, who were married in October 2023 and formed 14 years ago. However, the defendant's criminal record is "devoid of any antecedents," stressed the public prosecutor.
In November 2019, the father had stabbed his wife in the shoulder blade when she was a month and a half away from giving birth. The Haitian-born victim refused to press charges and did not want the assistance of an association that helps victims of violence.
An investigation was launched and the husband was taken into custody before being hospitalised in a psychiatric unit.
That case was dismissed on the grounds of mental deficiency. An expert report had attested to the existence of the abolition of discernment in the man, who had been treated since 2017 for depressive and psychotic disorders.
On average, a feminicide occurs every three days in France: 118 women were killed last year by their spouses or ex-spouses.
Recent events have been marked by two triple infanticides perpetrated by fathers, in October in Val-d'Oise and late November in Val-de-Marne.
