A 29-year-old Afghan migrant has been charged with murder and placed in pretrial detention after allegedly stabbing a 65-year-old Chinese woman to death in an apartment used for prostitution in Béthune, northern France.
The victim’s body was discovered on July 13 in a short-term rental apartment in the city center. An autopsy found that she had suffered multiple stab wounds — around 20, according to La Voix du Nord. Investigators believe she was killed on July 11, two days before her body was found.
The suspect was arrested on July 22.
He confessed during police questioning but has not clearly explained why he carried out the attack, prosecutors said, according to Le Figaro. Initial findings indicate that he had been a client of the victim, who authorities believe may have been engaged in prostitution at the apartment.
The Afghan national was legally residing in France and had been granted subsidiary protection by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons.
Local authorities reportedly asked the agency to withdraw that protection, arguing that the suspect’s conduct represented a serious threat to public order.
A separate investigation has been opened into alleged aggravated pimping connected to the apartment, which had reportedly been used for prostitution for several years and had previously been linked to violent incidents.
A Chinese man in his forties, suspected of renting the property and profiting from prostitution, has been charged and placed under judicial supervision. Prosecutors had sought his detention and have appealed the judge’s decision to release him under supervision.
