Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
The vagrant accused of the brutal rape and murder of a beautiful 23-year-old woman who was 8 months pregnant and whose partner was on a reality TV show called ’10 Perfect Couples’ is set to go on trial.
The young woman, Melodie Masse, who was studying to be a nurse, was brutally raped and murdered along with her unborn child on 13th September 2017 after the homeless man named as Cedric Bernasconi broke into her flat.
She had been staying in the flat in Ustaritz in the Pyrenees-Atlantique department in south-western France near the tourist hot spot Biarritz. It had been rented for her by her mother, to rest before the big day.
According to local media, Bernasconi, 38 at the time and who had been living in the area for eight years, thought the flat was empty and broke in to burgle it. When he heard a woman’s voice, he reportedly became aroused and raped her. He also allegedly severely beat her when she did her best to resist.
The suspect then allegedly made a coffee and drank a whisky before leaving.
That evening, at around 9pm, she was found naked, with bruises on her bloodied face, with a broken nose, gagged, her hands tied behind her back by her boyfriend, Olivier Espagne.
Olivier was a contestant on a reality TV show called “10 Couples Parfaits” (’10 Perfect Couples’).
Her autopsy revealed she had died by strangulation. The suspect was apprehended four days later, having fled the scene. He was arrested after a car chase with police officers while driving a stolen van. Local media report a DNA test carried out on the suspect was a positive match.
The accused has priors of theft and has been described as “unbalanced” and “marginal” in local media. The murder trial begins Monday behind closed doors and is set to last five days until 27th September, according to local media.
Cedric Bernasconi face life in prison.
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