2023-12-16 12:04:00
Mélodie Mendes da Silva, a 34-year-old mother, disappeared in early November in Marseille. A body, “very likely” hers, was found following the confession of her alleged murderer, her lover, a 40-year-old man indicted Friday evening for “assassination”. Here is what we know regarding this affair.
Disappearance
Mélodie Mendes da Silva, beautician, mother of two children, originally from a Cape Verdean family in Marseille, left her accommodation located in the center of Marseille on Friday November 3 around 6:00 p.m. She had not given any sign of life to her family since.
Following the disappearance of Mélodie Mendes da Silva, a march was organized on November 18 in Marseille by her relatives, in order to alert public opinion. “We would at least like to know a little more. It’s my children who keep me going, that’s where I get my resources,” his companion then declared, completely exonerated, according to the latter’s lawyer, Me Mathilde Dumoulin.
Initially opened for “search for the causes of the disappearance”, the investigation was reclassified on November 17 for “kidnapping, kidnapping or arbitrary detention”.
After several weeks, a suspect identified
“An individual aged 40, in very close contact with the missing woman before the events,” was placed in police custody on Wednesday, the Marseille prosecutor’s office said in a first press release on Friday. According to our information, he was near Mélodie’s apartment at the time of her disappearance. In a second press release, late in the evening, the prosecution specified that the man, who explained that he had killed her by bullets, was indicted for murder and “placed in pre-trial detention”.
VIDEO. Discovery of Mélodie’s body in Marseille: her lover confessed
After initially contesting the facts or remaining silent, the man finally admitted to having shot Mélodie Mendes da Silva several times, “as part of a tumultuous extra-marital relationship”, in the words of the prosecution.
The victim’s lover then brought the investigators “to the crime scene”, at the Col de l’Espigoulier, in the nearby town of Gémenos, where “a woman’s body, very likely corresponding” to that of the missing woman, was discovered.
During his custody, the lover confirmed that the weapon found during the search was the one he had used on the evening of the incident. The investigation was directed towards him thanks to telephone cross-checks and the collection of testimonies. If the prosecution therefore indicted him for murder, which implies premeditation, the alleged murderer denied “any criminal intention and premeditation”, reported the prosecution.
His companion, also indicted
The suspect’s partner, a bank employee in her forties, was also taken into police custody, suspected of having known regarding the facts without notifying the authorities. She was also indicted on Friday evening for “failure to report a crime” and placed under judicial supervision.
On average, a feminicide occurs every three days in France. In 2022, 118 women were killed by their spouse or ex-spouse. In total, that same year, 244,300 victims of domestic violence, the vast majority women, were recorded by the police, an increase of 15% compared to 2021 interpreted by associations as a sign of a better consideration of their words.
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