Story By: Victoria Lyndon, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
The dismembered corpse of a young woman who went missing in France while her family were waiting to celebrate her 20th birthday with them has been found in the woods and formally identified.
More than a year has passed since history student Sophie Le Tan disappeared. When she did not return from an apartment visit in Schiltigheim, in the Bas-Rhin department of north-eastern France, her family, who had been waiting in the restaurant to celebrate her birthday, alerted the police.
That was on 7th September 2018, and cops arrested Jean-Marc Reiser two days later. They said he had placed the advert and they also found traces of Sophie Le Tan’s blood found in his home, including on a saw handle.
He insists however that he is innocent, and claimed that she had cut herself, and that he had treated her injured hand before she left to go home.
Although under English law it is not permitted to give details of a person’s previous convictions when a trial is pending, this is not the case in France and local media said he had been convicted of rape previously.
In addition, in the 1980’s he had been in court regarding another missing young woman.
The latest development happened when an off-duty female police officer who was out picking mushrooms discovered the remains of a dismembered corpse during a walk in the forest in Grendelbruch a few days ago on 23rd October.
An autopsy was then performed on Friday and samples taken, and it has now been confirmed that the body is indeed that of Sophie Le Tan.
A day later, prosecutor Yolande Renzi announced in a statement: “Now they (her family and friends) can finally grieve”.
The residents of Cernay, where the victim’s family live, also hope the finding of Sophie’s body will allow her relatives to finally mourn her death.
“This time of doubt was unbearable,” said Michel Sordi, the Mayor of Cernay.
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