A man has been indicted and placed in pre-trial detention for the murder of his ex-partner in Bollène, the Avignon prosecutor's office announced on Saturday, August 8. The suspect is accused of killing her with extreme violence at her home in the Vaucluse department on Thursday, August 6.
Jean-François Mayet, the deputy public prosecutor, said the suspect was also indicted for possessing category B and category C weapons. Gendarmes discovered the victim's body on Thursday evening after an acquaintance raised concerns about her absence, finding numerous skull injuries that suggested the use of a sharp object.
Officers arrested the suspect later that evening at his home, where he was with the couple's two children. The children, whose family is originally from Czechia, were taken to the Avignon hospital center and then placed with Child Social Assistance.
Previous Domestic Violence Charges
The suspect was previously held in police custody in June for violence against his ex-partner during their separation. He was placed under judicial supervision and was scheduled to stand trial at the Carpentras correctional court in November.
Following the June incident, the Carpentras prosecutor's office gave the victim an emergency alarm phone, and a family court judge issued a protection order. Prosecutors said the victim had not reported any further violence since June.
The Carpentras prosecutor's office handed the investigation to prosecutors in Avignon because of the severity of the murder charge, with an investigating judge now overseeing the probe. Data from the Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women shows 107 women were killed by a partner or ex-partner in 2024, an 11 percent increase from 96 in 2023.
