Europe 1 with AFP 6:25 a.m., October 15, 2021, modified at 6:26 a.m., October 15, 2021
On Wednesday, a septuagenarian was found beheaded at her home in Agde, in Hérault.
The suspect, a 51-year-old man who knew the victim, was arrested and taken into custody Thursday evening, said the Béziers prosecutor's office.
A septuagenarian was found beheaded in her house in the seaside resort of Agde, in the Hérault, on Wednesday and a suspect who "knew" her placed in police custody Thursday evening, we learned from the Béziers prosecutor's office .
"A suspect" was arrested shortly before 9 pm in the Agathoise region.
"This is a 51-year-old man who knew the victim," Béziers prosecutor Raphaël Balland said Thursday evening in a statement.
"He was placed in custody of the murder chief given the developments in the investigations suggesting elements of premeditation", continued the magistrate who had specified earlier in the day that the terrorist track was not privileged to this stage.
The terrorist trail is not privileged
On Wednesday evening, the body of a 77-year-old widowed teacher was discovered at her home, her head close to the body.
It was his son who raised the alert, worrying about the victim's lack of response to his phone calls, the prosecutor said.
An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday after a night of on-site investigations.
The investigation was entrusted to the Montpellier judicial police.
The prosecutor specified that the victim was not known to the judicial authority and that the Agde police station had not received any complaint from her in recent years.
In addition, the prosecutor indicated to have opened another investigation for "violation of professional secrecy and concealment of this offense given the nature of the information disseminated by certain media".