According to the AFP news agency, the main suspect is a homeless 24-year-old woman with mental disorders. On Saturday she was arrested in the suburb of Bois-Colombes.
The woman was seen in surveillance images of the area around the apartment building in which Lola lived, in the northern part of Paris.
The accused woman allegedly admitted that she received shelter and help in moving the dead girl from a 43-year-old man. Six people have been arrested in the case so far.
Found by a homeless man
Sources tell AFP that Lola was found by a homeless man, huddled under some sheets in a plastic suitcase behind the apartment building.
Already in the afternoon, the 12-year-old’s father, who works as a caretaker in the building, became suspicious of the woman. Previously he had seen the woman sneak into the building and had been uncomfortable.
The woman’s defense attorney, Alexandre Silva, says the accused woman denies guilt and has expressed sympathy for Lola’s relatives.
Photo: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP
According to the prosecutor of the case, the woman must have changed her story several times over the course of events.
Eventually, however, he would admit to having taken the young woman to her sister’s apartment, in the same condominium. There, the woman would force Lola to take a shower. He then allegedly raped and killed the 12-year-old girl, then hid her body in her suitcase.
The autopsy showed that the 12-year-old had neck injuries and had probably died of suffocation.
He would also have had minor knife wounds elsewhere on his body. On the soles of his feet were the numbers “0” and “1” written in red.
Personnel in psychological crisis
The environment around Lola is shaken and the school has set up a psychological crisis team for staff and pupils.
– My daughter is not feeling well today, she doesn’t want to go to school, a mother tells AFP.
– The most important thing now is that the main suspect is arrested. No psychopath roams the streets of this neighborhood, says Mayor Francois Dagnaud in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.
– Of course it is overwhelming for everyone that a 12-year-old could die under these circumstances, he added.
