Suspect in Paris Student Murder Arrested in Switzerland; Had Prior Deportation Order

The suspect in the murder of Philippine was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the French authorities. Of Moroccan origin, Taha O. has been subject to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) since June 18 last. The alleged murderer of the 19-year-old student, whose body was found on Saturday in the Bois de Boulogne, arrived in France in 2019 via Spain, with a Moroccan passport.

Wanted for this murder, he fled the country and turned off his phone to avoid being located. Once in Switzerland, he turned on the device, which allowed his arrest by the Swiss police. The 22-year-old man is registered by the French judicial authorities as a sex offender. He had already been sentenced to seven years in prison by the juvenile assize court for the rape of a young woman in the Bois Taverny in the Val-d’Oise.

According to the first elements of the investigation conducted by the Paris criminal brigade, in collaboration with other services, Philippine would have been killed on Friday afternoon in the Bois de Boulogne. The suspect would have returned to the scene the next day to bury her. Investigators also discovered that the victim’s bank card had been used after her death, in Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis.