A homeless woman with ‘serious psychological problems’ has been charged with the murder, rape and torture of a 12-year-old girl whose throat was slit before her mutilated body was stuffed in a suitcase in Paris.
Dahbia B, a 24-year-old homeless woman originally from Algeria, appeared before examining magistrates today following her arrest on Saturday and was indicted in connection with the gruesome killing of Lola Daviet.
The schoolgirl was found on Friday, tied up inside the plastic suitcase near her home with the numbers ‘1’ and ‘0’ imprinted on her chest, and then left in the inner courtyard of a building in the French capital’s north-east.
CCTV footage had emerged showing both the alleged killer and her victim next to the block of flats where Lola lived with her middle-class parents who owned properties across northern France.
Lola’s mutilated body was later found near the building, in the city’s 19th arrondissement, where she lived with her parents Delphine and Johan.
‘The suspect had boasted about selling body parts,’ said an investigating source. ‘Evidence suggests that the girl was taken into the basement of the flat, where she was tortured, and raped, before being strangled and having her throat cut.’
The source added: ‘The suspect is believed to suffer with serious psychological problems. She was living on the street, but had friends and family in the Paris area.’
A judicial source confirmed Dahbia B was in custody charged with ‘the murder of a child under 15, rape, and torture’.
Others were arrested and have since been released, but an unidentified 43-year-old man is still in custody after allegedly making a car available to the suspect over the weekend.
A murder probe has been launched into the death of the girl – named by French media as Lola Daviet – after her corpse was found tied up inside the plastic suitcase close to her home in the French capital late on Friday night
Lola is seen partially obscured by the door as she follows her suspected killer, pictured centre. The suspect is seen wearing a grey jumper, white leggings and trainers. Lola quickly followed her into the building
Lola is pictured in this CCTV footage still wearing a white coat and carrying what appears to be her schoolbag
On Friday night after the body was discovered, three people were arrested near the scene, then a woman, who was spotted on CCTV with the schoolgirl hours before her death, was also held. Two others were also arrested and all are originally from Algeria, Le Parisien said.
Now it is thought the alleged killer ‘acted alone and gratuitously’ in allegedly carrying out the murder, according to judicial sources.
Witnesses say they saw her dragging the suitcase which was ‘stained with blood’ and ‘smelt strongly of bleach’.
An investigating source said: ‘The alleged murderer somehow earned her victim’s confidence and led her into a cellar below the building, where the attack happened.
‘The attacker had been talking about selling organs and body parts, but none of this makes sense. She acted alone and gratuitously, and defiled her victim before killing her.’
Six people including Dahbia B.’s older sister, Friha B., were originally arrested in connection with the crime, but they are now considered innocent of any wrongdoing.
One 43-year-old man still faces charges over allegedly helping the suspect.
Lola’s parents are both professional caretakers of a number of buildings in northern Paris, including the one where they live.
They also own two houses in the village of Fouquereuil, near Bethune, northern France, and a mobile holiday home in Rang-du-Fliers, on the English Channel coast.
Lola was a pupil at the Georges-Brassens school, near her home, and it re-opened on Monday morning. Pupils were being offered psychological counselling.
The victim was discovered with her feet and wrists bound, tape around her face and several cuts to her throat, just hours after she was reported missing by her parents when she failed to return after class at the Georges Brassens college just yards away from her home.
She had numbers placed on her body by a ‘device’, rather than cut into her skin, according to police source cited by French broadcaster BFMTV.
A post-mortem examination on Saturday concluded that she had died of asphyxiation following a physical attack that included a knife being used to cut her body.
Chilling security camera footage has emerged which showed the girl, dressed in a white outfit and carrying what appears to be a schoolbag, walking into her building behind a woman who witnesses claimed was later seen carrying the suitcase.
One resident said he saw the suspect dragging the suitcase around two hours prior to Lola’s disappearance.
‘We saw her go into the building, and she was dragging the suitcase with her,’ he said. ‘She did not seem right in the mind.’
Others saw the suspect drinking a coffee and eating a croissant as she appeared to ‘try and work out what to do next’.
Police told French media they had uncovered signs of kidnapping in the basement of the building and launched a murder enquiry.
Lola’s corpse was discovered on Friday evening by a homeless man who saw an abandoned suitcase on the street
The girl was found outside a block of flats on Rue d’Hautpoul (pictured) in the French capital’s 19th arrondissement after she had been reported missing by her mother when she failed to return home from school
The schoolgirl’s face was covered in tape, her feet and fists were bound, and she had suffered several cuts to her throat, according to reports.
The victim’s mother Delphine went to police at 5pm on Friday evening when she became worried that her daughter had not returned home, and subsequently posted a desperate appeal for help on social media.
Mrs Daviet posted an image of Lola, which was accompanied by the following message: ‘Our daughter Lola was last seen at 3:20pm in the company of a woman we do not know in our residence.’
The surveillance footage from the entrance of the building only captured Lola following her suspected killer into her block.
Less than six hours later, a homeless man contacted the police after he allegedly stumbled upon the suitcase and discovered the body inside at around 11.30pm on Rue d’Hautpoul – a stone’s throw away from the victim’s home.
The public prosecutor confirmed to BFMTV that signs of a struggle had been discovered in one of the basement rooms in Lola’s building.
Parisian officials indicated that staff and students of the Georges Brassens school attended by Lola would receive psychological support, as well as neighbouring schools in the area.
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