22 years later, the suspect confessed to being the perpetrator of the crime

A man is in custody at the Limoges police station in connection with the murder of a prostitute in 2002.

The man suspected of killing a prostitute in 2002 in Limoges (Haute-Vienne), indicted this Thursday for “murder” and “acts of torture and barbarity”, confessed to being the perpetrator of the crime, franceinfo learned on Friday, August 23, from a source close to the case. This 46-year-old man, aged 24 at the time of the events, was placed in pre-trial detention.

On February 10, 2002, Hannah Tabi, a 39-year-old woman from Ghana, was found lying in a pool of blood by a passerby near the city center of Limoges, killed by several stab wounds, in the area around the train station where prostitutes usually met. Although several leads were explored during the investigation, none led to the indictment of a possible suspect.

According to information from franceinfo, after committing several traffic offences around Limoges, this suspect was caught by his DNA, 22 years after the events, after a genetic fingerprint sample was taken. As is the procedure, his profile was then entered into the National Automated Genetic Fingerprint File (Fnaeg). His profile then matches the DNA taken from the crime scene 22 years ago.

According to a source close to the case, in police custody, the suspect, who had been put at ease by the investigator, said he was “relieved” to confess to the crime. He indicated that he had committed the irreparable, “a stroke of madness” after several romantic failures. According to this source, man is a “battered by life”a regular consumer of alcohol and cannabis, who was going “from job to job”He was known to the courts for violence and lived in a small town near Limoges. He was married before being left by his wife. The suspect’s father was interviewed at the start of the case in 2002. It was the suspect himself, then aged 24, who opened the case to the police without ever being heard in this case.

The investigation will now allow us to learn more about his psychological profile. Investigators must also ensure that he is not the author of other similar acts. For murder and torture, he risks life imprisonment.

On Friday morning, the Nanterre Cold Case Unit prosecutor’s office stated that discussions had been ongoing for two years with the Limoges prosecutor to consider taking up the case. However, due to recent developments, the Limoges prosecutor’s office has remained and will remain competent in this case.