Europe 1 with AFP 1:57 p.m., April 29, 2022, modified at 1:58 p.m., April 29, 2022

The husband killed his wife with a knife before turning the weapon against him on Tuesday in Épinal, in the presence of three of their eight children, the prosecution said on Friday.

"The mother of the family was killed by her husband" and the latter "would have used the same knife to kill himself", specified the public prosecutor.

The vagueness surrounding the discovery Tuesday morning of a couple killed with knives in their apartment in Épinal is lifted: the husband killed his wife with a knife before turning the weapon against him, in the presence of three of their eight children, the prosecution said on Friday.

"The mother of the family was killed by her husband" and the latter "would have used this same knife to kill himself", specified the public prosecutor of Épinal, Frédéric Nahon.

The autopsy revealed "several knife wounds, including defense wounds" on the body of the 44-year-old woman.

The inquest confirmed that a "verbal argument between the parents" broke out on Tuesday morning, with the 45-year-old husband accusing his wife of "alleged infidelity", added the prosecutor.

The “struggle scene” took place in the bathroom of the apartment: one of the children then “broke down the door” and discovered the inanimate bodies of his parents.

>> READ ALSO -

 The fight against feminicide is "a matter of time", insists Moreno

Minor children entrusted to social services

The family, originally from Kosovo, had been living in France since 2018 and had refugee status.

It was made up of eight children, three of whom were adults.

Seven of the children were still living with their parents and the five minors were in school.

The children were taken care of at the Epinal hospital and the minors by the social services.

The couple was not known to the justice services and no complaint for domestic violence had been filed, according to Frédéric Nahon.

This one specified that the facts should be classified without continuation “for extinction of the public action” because of the death of the husband.

If you are a witness or victim of domestic, sexist or sexual violence, you can contact 3919 (free call from a landline or mobile) open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.

The call is anonymous and does not appear on the phone bills.


You can also report this violence online on the public service website, which also offers a search engine to find a nearby police station or gendarmerie, which is obliged to take your complaint.