After more than 15 years, the murder of a runner in France has likely been solved. A suspect was presented to an investigating judge yesterday and later taken into custody, as announced yesterday by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
Investigators, specializing in cold cases, located the man, who was 18 years old at the time of the crime, through a new analysis of DNA traces on the victim's car key.
Body found in river
Runner Caroline Marcel was murdered south of the city of Orleans in June 2008. Her body was found in the Loiret River. According to the Public Ministry, the 45-year-old man was strangled from behind and then thrown into the water.
The case was handed over in 2022 to a newly founded unit based in Nanterre that deals with “cold cases” – old, unsolved crimes. According to the Public Ministry, a new analysis of the traces made it possible to identify a “genetic profile” in the victim’s car key thanks to “technical advances”.
The suspect thus identified was in the region at the time. He was finally arrested on Tuesday in the southern French city of Toulouse.