Ex-Policeman's Suicide Ends 35 Year French Serial Killer Mystery
NDTV
Francois Verove, 59, died by suicide at his rented home in the south of France after receiving a summons for questioning, leaving a "written statement" and with DNA evidence then confirming his identity, the Paris prosector and sources said.
A former policeman suspected of being the serial killer behind some of France's oldest unsolved cases has been found dead after 35 years of dodging arrest, just as police were closing in on his identity.
Francois Verove, 59, died by suicide at his rented home in the south of France after receiving a summons for questioning, leaving a "written statement" and with DNA evidence then confirming his identity, the Paris prosector and sources said.
The man, nicknamed "Le Grele" ("pockmarked"), had been wanted by police since the 1980s for the murder and rape of young girls, but was never caught.
The list of crimes he allegedly committed in the 1980s and 90s includes rape of minors, murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and kidnapping of minors, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement late Thursday.