A last tribute to Lola this Monday. The funeral of the 12-year-old girl, killed in atrocious conditions on October 14
then found in a trunk in Paris, are celebrated in the commune of Lillers (Pas-de-Calais), the city of origin of his mother. Several hundred people are expected on site to pay their respects. Lola’s parents, who wish “to be able to honor the memory of their daughter with serenity, respect and the dignity that is due to her” had firmly rejected, earlier in the week, the political recovery of the far right and in particular of the National Rally and the supporters of Éric Zemmour. Gérald Darmanin, invited by the family, will be present at the funeral.
Gérald Darmanin invited to the funeral
The funeral of the girl, killed at the age of 12, will take place this Monday at 2:30 p.m. in Lilles (Pas-de-Calais). The ceremony, celebrated by the Bishop of Arras, will be opened “to all those who wish to pay him a last tribute”, May_s “the burial in the cemetery will be done in the strictest privacy”, the parents said Thursday in a press release. Gérald Darmanin will be present at the invitation of the family, said the entourage of the Minister of the Interior.
Of the dozens of people had already gathered Friday in Fouquereuil (Pas-de-Calais) for a tribute to little Lola, during a rally. This time of contemplation, of support for his loved ones, his family was organized with the agreement of the parents who reject any political recovery. According to the mayor of Fouquereuil, Gérard Ogiez, Lola’s family has “decided to leave Paris to come back to live” in this town of 1,600 inhabitants.
The political world seizes the case, the parents reject any recovery
Lola’s family asked that “urges to cease, and be withdrawn, all use of their child’s name and likeness
for political purposes”, during the demonstrations and on the Internet, their lawyer had indicated in a press release this Friday, October 21. His parents want “to be able to honor the memory of their daughter with serenity, respect and the dignity that is due to her”recalled the lawyer Me Clotilde Lepetit, the day after a demonstration in Paris in the presence in particular of Eric Zemmour during which certain demonstrators carried signs on which represented the face of the schoolgirl. The National Rally, which was initially to participate in the rally, finally organized a minute of silence at the same time in front of the National Assembly “in tribute to Lola and in support of her family and loved ones”.
The circumstances of Lola’s death and the profile of the suspect, of Algerian nationality and under an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF)drew sharp criticism from the right and far right who blamed the government for mishandling irregular immigration.
During questions to the government in the National Assembly on Tuesday, the deputies LR and RN had questioned the ministers. Marine Le Pen notably pointed the finger at the government’s migration policy. She then assured that “the suspect of this barbaric act should not have been on our territory“. Similar remarks had been made a few minutes earlier by the deputy Les Républicains Éric Pauget.
“A little decency, respect the pain of the family”, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne then replied, who wanted to leave the “police and justice do their job“. The Minister of Justice Éric Dupont-Moretti then rose up: “Using the coffin of a 12-year-old girl like a stepping stone is a shame.” The executive felt the next day that it had to “do better” on the deportation of irregular immigrants.
The parents’ request did not prevent the holding of several rallies organized by the far right this Saturday, October 22 and in particular in Rennes, where a hundred demonstrators demanded “justice for Lola”.
Emmanuel Macron was moved by the “atrocity” of Lola’s murder
Emmanuel Macron received Lola’s parents on Tuesday morning
. The President of the Republic presented his condolences to them and assured them of “all his solidarity and support in the ordeal they are going through and which upsets us all”. A few days later, during a European summit in Brussels, Emmanuel Macron was moved by “the atrocity” of the murder of Lola, considering after a week of political controversies on the subject that her family had “above all need the respect and affection of the Nation”. “What touches us all? It is the atrocity of this crime and it is also what is both unspeakable and absolute about it”said the head of state during a press conference on Friday.
The suspect taken into custody
A 24-year-old woman, the main suspect in Lola’s murder, was indictment on Monday October 17 by a Parisian investigating judge for “murder” and “aggravated rape” then taken into custody. She acknowledged the facts before retracting, learned franceinfo from the Paris prosecutor. From a source familiar with the matter, She is an Algerian national
arrived legally in France in 2016 with a student residence permit. On August 21, she was arrested at an airport by the police who noted a lack of residence permit. As provided for in the procedure for foreigners without a criminal record, an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory) had been issued to him, with a voluntary return period of 30 days. This woman had made herself known to the police as a victim of domestic violence in 2018, said the same source. She has no other criminal record.
A 43-year-old man was also charged with “concealment of corpse”, he is suspected of having transported the body of the schoolgirl. He was placed under judicial control, pre-trial detention not being possible because of the sentence incurred.
What happened ?
Not seeing her return home after school in the afternoon of Friday, October 14, Lola’s parents worried had reported her disappearance to the police. They then shared a photo of their daughter Friday night on Facebook, stating “kidnapping alert, our daughter Lola was last seen at 3:20 p.m. in the company of a girl we do not know in our residence”. It was later in the evening, around 11 p.m. on Friday, that a homeless man discovered the body of the lifeless teenager, tied up and curled up in a trunk. She presented multiple throat sores. In police custody, the main suspect oscillated “between recognition and contestation of the facts”, according to the public prosecutor of Paris. “She allegedly dragged the victim to her sister’s apartment, living in the same building as the child.” The main suspect would then have imposed on the victim “to take a shower before committing sexual assaults and other violence on her resulting in death”. She would then “hiding the body in the crate”.
The suspect then retracted her confession, but several elements implicate her. On CCTV footage of the building, we see her in particular handling the cash register in which Lola’s body was hidden.
A mobile still mysterious
For now, the motive for the crime remains mysterious. Investigators are interested in an argument between the main suspect and Lola’s parents, caretakers of the building. They would have refused to give him a building access badge. The track of revenge is therefore explored, but the police do not exclude the hypothesis of a gratuitous act or in connection with the profile of this woman. The acts of torture suffered by Lola, and the mysterious numbers inscribed in red under her feet could go in this direction.