A young French teen, Auriane Laisne, was murdered near an abandoned church near La Salle in Italy’s Aosta Valley in 2024. The case spread across the international media over claims that she was “hunting for ghosts” and that all of the blood from her body was drained.

A verdict in the case is expected within the next 40 days. Her partner, Teima Sohaib, a 23-year-old Italian citizen whose family is originally from Morocco, is on trial for the murder. So far, the sensational details of the case, such as all of her blood being drained, have not been confirmed by any of the evidence, but prosecutors say that the two had a turbulent relationship. They accuse Sohaib of murdering the girl at the end of March.

After her body was discovered, an autopsy showed that the girl’s blood had such high levels of benzodiazepines that she was likely in a semi-conscious state at the time of the murder, according to Italian newspaper Il Resto del Carlino. He is accused of stabbing her to death inside the small church and later moving her body.

DNA evidence connecting Sohaib was found on the girls’ pants and her smartphone, which was missing from the crime scene. Instead, it was found in possession of the 23-year-old suspect when he was arrested.

According to investigators, the two traveled together to the Aosta Valley to address their relationship issues. Mobile phone records indicate they were together for three days between March 23 and March 25, 2024, the day they crossed into Italy from France.

Authorities believe Laisne was killed between March 26 and March 27, 2024. A passerby discovered her body in the abandoned church on April 5, and Sohaib was arrested five days later in France, where he had been living for his studies. During the trial, defense lawyers Lucia Lupi and Tommaso Calabrò highlighted evidence that the victim’s body was moved between 12 and 16 hours after her death, a detail they argue is significant to the case.

In court, psychiatrist Francesco Cargioli, a specialist of the Local Health Authority, said the man has a serious personality disorder, including severe narcissism, but this does not reach a level that would absolve him from legal responsibility for the murder.

Cargioli acknowledged that the 23-year-old, who has maintained his innocence, had episodes of aggression while in prison. “A picture of mixed personality disorder emerged, but I did not detect any elements that interfere with his ability to stand trial,” the psychiatrist explained. “There is no loss of reality. Personality disorder affects imputability when there is a loss of contact with reality or a severe psychotic disorder.”

The prosecution’s closing argument and the intervention of the civil party representing the victim’s parents are scheduled for March 18. The defense is expected to deliver its final arguments on March 25. The court is scheduled to announce its verdict on April 8, exactly two years after Laisne’s body was discovered.