Paris - The brutal and what seems to be unprovoked murder of
an 11-year-old boy in France has prompted investigators to suspect
the work of a psychotic serial murderer over more than a decade.
Stephane Moitoiret was quickly identified and arrested as the
possible killer by genetic material on the boy, called Valentin, who
was found with 44 stab wounds near the city of Lyon on July 28.
Moitoiret, described as a vagrant with religious delusions, is now
suspected of killing 20-year-old Marine Boisseranc three years ago,
according to a report in Saturday's Parisien newspaper.
Marine's father Eric told the newspaper that the prosecutor in the
Valentin case had established 'similarities between the two killings,
Valentin's murder and my daughter's, especially when it comes to the
knife blows.'
The French Gendarmerie said that investigators had dealt with
hundreds of cases over the past 14 years and some of the killings
seemed to match the Valentin case.
The victims did not seem to have anything in common, the
gendarmerie said: they include a priest, a transvestite and men and
women of all ages.
However, several of the crime scenes had links to Moitoiret and
the manner in which the victims were laid out was similar.
Investigators are sure in the Valentin case that it was Moitoiret
as they found a knife with both his and Valentin's blood on it in the
woods.
The 39-year-old suspect has been travelling around France for 20
years with his partner Noella, who is nine years older than him. The
couple said they were on a pilgrimage and they have been staying in
church accommodation.
Moitoiret's mother said her son felt persecuted.
'He is a nice boy, but sometimes he lives in another world.'
Investigators suspect him of being a psychopath.
USA
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