The husband of Assia, the woman found dead and dismembered in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, has been indicted for murder of a spouse. He confessed to killing his wife and detailed his route to concealing the body.
A marital dispute that ended in a macabre journey. The husband of Assia, the woman found dead and cut up in the Buttes-Chaumont park in Paris, was indicted and imprisoned for murder of a spouse, attack on the integrity and concealment of a corpse, Saturday January 25. The man confessed and is suspected of having strangled his wife in their apartment in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), then of having dismembered her in his kitchen, according to information from the Parisian. The body of Assia on his arms, the man who does not have a car would have placed garbage bags containing the body parts in a shopping cart and took the bus to hide the remains of his wife in the Parisian park.
While in police custody, Assia’s husband denied any intention of wanting to kill his wife. “There was no violence in the couple. My client always denied having intended to kill his wife”, assured master Dominique Beyreuther-Minkov. The death of the 46-year-old mother would have occurred during an argument linked to old resentments within the couple. According to the defendant’s lawyer, the place where the body was hidden is a sign that the man did not want to kill his wife and wanted the body to be found. “He intimately wished that Assia would not disappear and that we would come and question him. He found himself in a whirlwind of total amazement. He was unable to tell his children that he was responsible for the death of their mother,” said Me Dominique Beyreuther-Minkov. A hypothesis that makes sense to certain police sources contacted by The Parisian “It’s a thoughtful act, because he could very well have gone to any green space closer to his home,” said a source familiar with the matter.
The macabre discovery took place in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, on Monday February 13. The pruners had found, around 2:30 p.m., in a remote grove, a garbage bag. Inside it was a human trunk that went “from the top of the chest to the knees”, according to a source from the Parisian. The bag had been discovered in a corner out of sight, near the green waste warehouse, south of the park, on the rue Botzaris side. The human remains were bloodied and dressed “as if surrounded by jeans”. A detail that made investigators say that the body was “cut dressed”, according to The Parisian, who contacted a source familiar with the matter.
A search had been organized in the Buttes-Chaumont park a few hours after the discovery with dog brigades, in order to find other parts of the body. Tuesday, February 14, other members, such as the head of the victim and the rest of the body, had been found, near the disused railway line which adjoins the park. Assia was identified through the analysis of fingerprints taken from her corpse, reports France info.
The victim was identified on Wednesday February 15. This is Assia, a 46-year-old woman of Algerian origin and mother of three children aged 8, 14 and 16, according to information from BFM TV. She had no job and lived with her husband, also unemployed, in a building in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), according to a source close to the investigation contacted by France info. Assia had been missing since January 31, but her husband did not report her missing to the police until a week later. The couple was not known to the police.
Neighbors of the couple, interviewed by The Parisian, describe a discreet woman. Few remember seeing her in the building. The family, presented as a homebody, seemed withdrawn into itself. Assia was used to participating in clearance sales and had worked on a fixed-term contract for the association Aides. The children were entrusted to their paternal uncle who lives in the Paris region.
Youcef, Assia’s husband, confessed to killing his wife on Friday February 24, reports The Parisian. He had been placed in police custody the day before and the investigators had noted several inconsistencies concerning him. Indeed, during his free hearing with the police on February 14, Youcef had made remarks different from those he granted to RTL during an interview on February 15. Assia’s husband thus indicated that his wife had left their home on the night of January 30 to 31, relays BFM TVwhich CCTV cameras did not capture.
The man was also slow to report his wife missing, posting a first message on social media on January 31, but only turning himself in to police on February 6. In addition, the investigators were able to note that Youcef had not gone to look for his wife in several places in Paris. The husband had also bought a new cell phone the day before Assia disappeared, although it has not been found. A few days before her death, Assia had for her part confided to her sister that she had the feeling that she was going to “die soon”.