A Moroccan national has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death his French wife, some 35 years his senior, in the French city of Montpellier earlier this month.
The 45-year-old suspect was detained by authorities on Nov. 8 after his partner, aged 80, was found dead at their home in the Figuerolles-Chaptal suburb of the city.
She had been stabbed a total of 26 times.
Her husband, known as Hassan AR, was arrested at their home after initially attempting to evade capture by climbing to the roof and threatening to commit suicide. The lifeless body of his wife was found by emergency responders in the bedroom of the property.
“On the way to the police station, Hassan admitted to the police that he had killed his wife that same morning,” a source close to the case told Le Figaro newspaper.
A post-mortem revealed that his victim’s wounds were consistent with multiple blows from a bladed weapon, according to the Montpellier public prosecutor’s office.
Hassan had moved to France with his much older wife after meeting her in Morocco several years ago, later getting married and being granted the right to remain in the country.
He was legally present on French territory and unknown to the justice system, a police source told French media.
There had been previous warnings of domestic violence within the relationship from earlier this year.
According to the public prosecutor, Hassan had been arrested back in June after threatening to kill his wife while he was drunk.
“He was notified of a ban on appearing at the victim’s home and a ban on contact with the latter for a period of six months,” the prosecutor’s office revealed.
Just two weeks later, the complaint by the victim was withdrawn, and her husband’s ban was lifted, leading to her tragic murder just three months later.
