Moroccan retiree charged in France for two cold case murders

Originally from Morocco, Mohammed C. settled in France, where he worked as a laborer for Renault before retiring. In Dijon, he had been living for several years in an apartment in the Grésilles district with his partner, leading an apparently peaceful existence.

This quiet daily routine was upended by his arrest and indictment, as reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien, as part of investigations into two cold-case murders. He is accused of killing two women in Isère, where he lived during the 1980s and 1990s, near the crime scenes.

The charges concern two separate cases. In August 1988, Nathalie Boyer, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from La Réunion, disappeared on her way home to her mother's house in Villefontaine. A few days later, her lifeless body, bearing signs of a slit throat, was discovered in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, according to France 3.

Twelve years later, in May 2000, Laïla Afif, a mother of five, was found dead in a stream in La Verpillière, shot in the back of the head. Mohammed C., who resided in the area at the time, is now suspected of being directly linked to both crimes.

Arrest and indictment

In the early hours of Sunday, November 24, Mohammed C. was arrested in his Dijon apartment. Held in police custody for 96 hours, he was then presented to the juge des libertés before being transferred to the Nanterre court, where the unit specializing in cold cases is based. This unit, established in 2022, was able to link the two cases thanks to recently analyzed DNA evidence.

Mohammed C. firmly denies the charges against him. «He is distraught by this arrest and by the accusations, which go back several decades», say his lawyers. His partner, with whom he has shared his life for five years, continues to support him.

Mohammed C. may have gone unnoticed in recent years, but some of his behavior had raised suspicions. A neighbor in the Grésilles neighborhood recalls that, before settling down with his partner, he used to spend long days in his white van, parked near a laundromat. «He seemed to be waiting for someone. The women in the neighborhood had noticed his presence. He scared me», she confides. But despite this mysterious behavior, Mohammed C. maintained a good image. Eyewitness accounts even describe him as a «charmer», even «a bit of a runner».

A ray of hope for the families

For Laïla Afif's daughter, these suspicions are not entirely new. In an interview with Ouest-France, she claimed that the suspect was part of their close circle. «I know this family very well. We were friends. It's a shock for all of us», she said, adding that her mother «knew her murderer».

For the families of the victims, this indictment represents a long-awaited hope for justice after decades of uncertainty. Both cases, part of the «Disappeared of Isère» file, had remained unsolved until the intervention of the cold case unit. Mohammed C.'s potential involvement may also shed light on other unsolved investigations in this region, known for similar tragedies.

Despite the compelling evidence, Mohammed C. remains presumed innocent. The investigation continues to work towards establishing the facts with clarity, aiming to eliminate the many uncertainties surrounding these two murders. Meanwhile, the Moroccan pensioner remains in pre-trial detention, as determined by the liberty and custody judge.