- Firefighters made gruesome find after putting out fire in central Paris
A dismembered body has been discovered stuffed in an abandoned suitcase under a bridge in central Paris in a mysterious case that has shaken the French capital.
The macabre discovery was made by firefighters who had been sent to extinguish a fire that broke out in a pile of rubbish under the Austerlitz bridge on Saturday night.
After putting out the fire, emergency services began sweeping the surrounding area early on Sunday morning to rule out other threats and came across the suspected case.
Inside they found a dismembered and charred human body.
Prosecutors have launched a murder investigation but have not yet identified the burned and tortured remains.
A dismembered body was found on the evening of May 11, 2024 under the Austerlitz bridge in Paris by firefighters responding to a garbage fire.
The macabre discovery was made by firefighters who had been sent to extinguish a fire that broke out in a pile of garbage under the Austerlitz bridge.
The box containing his remains was found at the foot of the Austerlitz bridge, an area frequented by several homeless people and where garbage is usually thrown away.
Hours after firefighters made their shocking discovery, a man walked into the Paris Defense police station in Hauts-de-Seine to surrender, sensationally declaring that he was behind the gruesome murder.
The self-proclaimed perpetrator, who has not yet been identified, claimed that the dismembered body belonged to a disabled person he was caring for.
He said the couple had a fight and that he decided to kill his charge, according to a report by French outlet Europe 1, but he did not provide further details to police.
Now forensic teams are trying to establish exactly how and where the victim was killed, dismembered and stuffed into the case.
“The body was complete, but in several pieces,” said a source close to the case. Le Parisian yesterday afternoon.
Preliminary reports suggest that the victim was beaten to death “with his bare hands,” according to Le Parisien’s sources.
It is said that he was quadriplegic and would not have been able to defend himself.
The box containing his remains was found at the foot of the Austerlitz bridge, an area frequented by several homeless people and where garbage is usually thrown away.
It is not clear how the fire started in the trash or when the suitcase was left there.
One homeless man who spoke to French journalists said he was not aware of anyone dropping the case.
“It’s just us here,” he said. “We didn’t see anything. I’ve been here since Saturday afternoon.”
The discovery comes a few months before Paris hosts the Olympic Games.