A HOMELESS man has been charged with murder after four “partially naked” bodies were retrieved from the river Seine near Paris.
The corpses were found in the southeastern suburb of Choisy-le-Roi after a passenger on a passing train spotted one floating on the water and alerted police.
The suspect has not yet been named but has been described as a “homeless man aged about 20” by the prosecution.
He was detained on Wednesday and has been placed in pre-trial detention.
His defence lawyer Antoine Ory said: “My client is being questioned in relation to these four murders and is being held in custody.
“He has maintained his right to silence during his questioning, in front of the investigating magistrate.”
He had also been detained once on August 5 in possession of documents that turned out to belong to one of the victims.
All four victims – an Algerian, 21, a Tunisian, 26, a Frenchman, 46, and another Algerian aged 21 – were reportedly seen on the river path where the suspect had been known to linger.
Prosecutors added the man had refused to answer questions about the allegation but that an investigation had revealed a connection between the victims and the alleged killer.
The witness sounded the alarm after making the gruesome discovery on the RER C train at around 1pm last Wednesday.
A source close to the investigation previously told Actu17: “There are three men of African descent and a fourth of North African descent.
“At this stage, four separate death investigations have been opened.
“There is currently no evidence to suggest that all four victims died at the same time.”
“An autopsy will be performed this Thursday morning and will shed more light on the circumstances of their deaths.
“There is no evidence to suggest a criminal investigation at this stage.”
Two of the corpses were found partially naked while two showed signs of strangulation, prosecutors said.
While the body pointed out by the bystander was “relatively well-preserved,” the other three were in “a very advanced state of decomposition” when they were recovered, they added.
The corpses have been sent to the Paris Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification and autopsies after all four had reportedly been submerged in the river for several days.
Cops were joined by river brigade authorities who scrambled to pull the bodies out of the water.
Authorities reportedly found the second corpse around 50 metres away from the first one.
A third was discovered mangled in branches and a fourth drifting with the current.
While the bodies were all in a similar location, the prosecutor said this could be because of “the configuration of the river at that location”.
A 24-year-old was taken into custody at the at the Criminal Investigations Department in Paris on Wednesday morning and accused of several murders – though it is not clear how many.
