Man (57) arrested for murder of French Loana (10), who was found naked in a cellar near the Belgian border | Abroad

LOOK. Louana’s aunt: “She should not have suffered like this”

The parents of 10-year-old Loana reported their daughter missing last Tuesday after the girl did not return home from school. Loana went to school in the municipality of Vrigne-aux-Bois, about ten kilometers from her hometown of Sedan. According to initial information, the child took the bus home around 6 p.m. Then she had to walk a few minutes to her house, but something went wrong along the way. The girl was last seen near the botanical garden in Sedan. After that there was no trace.

The police immediately launched a large-scale search operation, which also included the use of sniffer dogs. But the search turned up nothing. On Wednesday, the authorities issued an investigation notice. That same day, a witness came forward. The person allegedly saw Loana at an apartment building in the historic center of Sedan.

The police immediately went to the scene and found the child’s body a short time later in the basement of the apartment building. The girl was wrapped in a blanket. She was naked and showed signs of violence, a source close to the investigation said. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the girl was “struck several times in the face” and it was the blows that caused her death.

The prosecutor said that the man denies the facts of manslaughter.

A 57-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene. Not many details have been released about the man yet. It is known that he is the tenant of an apartment in the building and that he made “strange and contradictory statements” during his interrogation. The man is reportedly known to the police. In 2017, he was allegedly sentenced to a month in prison for gang theft.

Meanwhile, the police have opened an investigation into the rape and murder of a minor.

Loana’s death causes great outrage in Sedan and the rest of the country. Dozens of local residents have already laid flowers at the building where the girl was found. Loana’s family is currently receiving psychological assistance.

Yesterday, about 200 people gathered to commemorate the girl. Family member Antoine was also among them. “She was my little sister. My father-in-law called me the day before yesterday, he was worried,” he says. “She had such a zest for life, she loved to play. There are no words for it. It’s terrible, pure cruelty. We are devastated,” he said.