Former Soldier Charged in Murder of Missing Woman in Ariège, France

Without news of Fadela, the inhabitants of the region have multiplied the searches around the village of Biert and the Col de la Crouzette, in the Ariège, in an attempt to find her. Since November 7, they have been meeting every morning at 10 a.m. to search for any clues that could help locate this 50-year-old mother. The police suspect François P., a former soldier "known for acts of violence," of having murdered Fadela. The suspect has been indicted for "murder," reports La Dépêche du Midi.

The former soldier lived in seclusion in "a kind of open-air dump with abandoned car and caravan carcasses," the same source details. The search carried out on these premises allowed the investigators to collect two pieces of evidence: a voice message revealing a dispute between Fadela and the suspect, and the testimony of a person claiming to have seen the two protagonists arguing. Questioned, the former soldier denied any involvement in the disappearance of the fifty-year-old.

The accused and the missing woman knew each other, according to Me Guy Dedieu. "They were two friends, nothing more," clarified the lawyer for François P., adding that his client "had no reason to want to attempt the life of this woman," described as a "jovial, sociable and good-living woman." "She was a party girl who really loved to have fun. She was also someone who made friends with everyone," attests an acquaintance.

Originally from the Tarn, Fadela lives with her partner in a rented apartment in the Ariège, the city where she recently moved. The fifty-year-old is the mother of a daughter living in Agde, and the grandmother of a little boy she was caring for. Recently, she had felt "threatened by a person in her entourage," confides an acquaintance.