Residents of a French town where a depressed mother allegedly stabbed her three children to death before being found dead have suggested she may have acted out of revenge.
Deborah Pel, 45, allegedly killed her three children Jules, two, Noe, 11, and Victoria, 13, at their Alpine home in Taninges, southeast France, on Tuesday, before driving to nearby Switzerland, where she was found dead in her Audi SUV. .
Now, a resident has claimed that Pel “wanted revenge by killing the children” after “things weren’t going well with his partner” and he moved away, according to Le Parisian.
The man, father of the youngest son, was the one who discovered the massacre in the family home, located ten miles from the Swiss border. Autopsies revealed that the children were stabbed to death.
Pel’s daughter, Victoria, had said that “things were not going well for her mother, who was depressed,” a classmate said. Pel reportedly left a letter, although its contents are unknown.
‘I didn’t know Deborah was depressed. It is already a tragedy for her to commit suicide, but she didn’t have to take her children with her,” a neighbor told Le Parisien.
Deborah Pel (pictured), 45, allegedly killed her three children Jules, 2, Noe, 11, and Victoria, 13, at their home in Taninges, southeast France, on Tuesday, before driving to nearby Switzerland, where she was found dead in her Audi SUV
The house where three children were found dead in Taninges, on November 13, 2024
A surveillance officer closes the road to the village of Taninges, in the French Alps, where three children were found dead the day before, November 13, 2024.
The mother of three worked as a teacher and had recently moved to a school in nearby Marnaz, reportedly following a request from parents who said she was too strict with the children.
While teaching at the Adelin-Malgrand school in Samoens, Pel allegedly made students stand up when they “moved too much” and even “threw pencil cases in their faces,” according to a woman whose grandchildren were in Pel’s class.
“She wasn’t cut out to be a teacher. “He was unpleasant to the children,” the grandmother told Le Parisien.
Pel’s children were found dead on Tuesday around 1:00 pm, and a search for Pel was launched.
Some 60 French police officers, supported by helicopters and diving squads, were searching for her.
Investigators who knew Pel’s French and Swiss citizenship asked Swiss authorities for help in their search, who flagged down his car as it entered the country.
On Wednesday morning, Swiss authorities announced that Pel’s Audi SUV had been found parked in Champery, in the canton of Valais, with the body of a woman, believed to be Pel, inside. The cause of Pel’s death is currently unknown.
The motive for the tragic murder of the three children is currently unknown.
Pel’s oldest children, Noe and Victoria, were from a previous relationship. He shared his youngest son, Jules, with his current partner, who has not yet been publicly named.
Deborah Pel (pictured) fled the small town of Taninges after she allegedly stabbed the three children to death on Tuesday afternoon.
This photograph shows the house where three children were found dead in Taninges, on November 13, 2024.
On Wednesday morning, Swiss authorities announced that Pel’s Audi SUV had been found parked in Champery, in the canton of Valais, with the body of a woman, believed to be Pel, inside.
The local community was left in ruins after the murders.
The principal of the Jacques Brel secondary school in Taninges, where the two older children were enrolled, declined to comment on the matter, following a question from a local journalist.
But one of Victoria’s classmates told Le Parisien that the teachers were crying and stopped their lessons. “Many students were crying in the hallways, it’s really sad,” the student added.
Meanwhile, the school where Pel taught is preparing to answer questions from students and their parents.
Le Dauphiné Libéré reported that a substitute teacher has already been appointed to take over the class that Pel taught.
“I would never have believed she would do this. It’s unimaginable,” an employee at the primary school where Pel worked told Le Parisien.
He added that Pel “was great with the kids” and was “very popular” at school.
Pel was reportedly very involved in the local community, most notably as a member of the Samoens municipal harmony, and was treasurer of the town’s music school.
She was an enthusiastic flutist and received an award for her dedication to music in 2022, after 30 years of playing the flute.
French gendarmes stand guard at the street entrance near the place where three children were found dead in Taninges, November 12, 2024.
French gendarmes stand guard at the entrance to a street, near the place where three children were found dead, in Taninges, eastern France, on November 12, 2024.
The shocking murder in the Alps comes after two young children were found decapitated in a bathtub on the French island of Guadeloupe last week.
The mutilated bodies of the four-year-old and 13-month-old brothers were discovered by their father in the family home.
The children’s mother, the main murder suspect, was found naked and wandering the streets by two police officers after the alarm was raised.
According to French outlet Le Parisien, the woman, believed to be in her forties, was speaking incoherently and was unable to explain the reasons for her actions when approached by police.
According to prosecutor Caroline Talbo, the woman was initially detained and later released due to her mental state, and has been hospitalized since.
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support.