The incident took place on Rue Saint Gengoul in Merl. The body of a 27-year-old man was found in a house there late on Sunday evening. He had been killed with a knife.
A neighbour told RTL that police had arrived shortly before midnight. Another neighbour was able to confirm the approximate time. She knows the person who, to her knowledge, lives in the house, describing him as a friendly neighbour, but considerably older than 27, meaning neither the victim nor the alleged perpetrator.
That evening, she said, she had suddenly seen plenty of police officers and an ambulance outside the building, and admitted she had been frightened. She knows who the man living there is, having seen him standing nearby, but she only glanced out of the window every so often. Around midnight, the doorbell rang. She was about to go to bed and, not paying full attention, triggered her alarm. Officers followed her into the apartment, told her not to be afraid and said she was safe, before wishing her a good evening and leaving.
Two days on, the orange sticker from the Judicial Police is still on the door. The building has been sealed off.
The police homicide squad is heading the inquiry. A great deal still has to be checked, the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday. Nevertheless, a suspect has been arrested and was already brought before an examining magistrate on Monday, with the man placed in pre-trial detention. He, too, is 27 years old.
The deceased and the alleged perpetrator are therefore the same age. According to the prosecutor’s office, there is no prior connection between the two. At this stage, as it stands, there are more questions than answers in the case.
The prosecutor’s office did not respond to a request for further information. That, however, is a common feature of the early stages of an investigation.
