A mother who allegedly stabbed her three children to death in the family’s Alpine home in France has reportedly been found dead in Switzerland.
Deborah Pel, a 45-year-old teacher, fled the small town of Taninges after she allegedly killed the three children, aged two, 11 and 13, on Tuesday, leaving only a note.
French newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré reported that after fleeing in her Audi SUV, the French-Swiss citizen was found dead in her car today. The cause of his death is currently unknown.
Today it was learned that it was the children’s grandparents who discovered the massacre in the family home, located fifteen kilometers from the Swiss border. It had previously been reported that her partner, the father of the youngest son, had found the bodies.
Earlier, some 60 French police, supported by helicopters and diving squads, were searching for her. Investigators who knew of his dual citizenship asked Swiss authorities for help in his search, who flagged down his car as he entered the country today.
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.
French gendarmes stand guard at the street entrance near the place where three children were found dead in Taninges, November 12, 2024.
The motive for the tragic murders is currently unknown.
Police are questioning relatives of the family. The investigation has been handed over to the Bonneville prosecutor’s office.
The mother was part of a blended family with a man who was the father of the youngest victim.
He has not yet been publicly named.
Pel was a teacher at a school in nearby Marnaz, where she had reportedly been transferred from the Adelin-Malgrand school in Samoëns.
Local media reported that he was suffering from depression.
Le Dauphiné Libéré reported that she was transferred at the request of parents, who said she was too strict with the children.
She was also reportedly heavily involved in the local community, most notably as a member of Samoën’s municipal harmony, and was treasurer of the town’s music school.
Pel was an enthusiastic flutist and received an award for her dedication to music in 2022, after 30 years of playing the flute.
Pel was a teacher at a school in nearby Marnaz, where she had reportedly been transferred from the Adelin-Malgrand school in Samoëns.
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 house where the three children were found dead, in Taninges, on November 13, 2024.
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.
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.
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.