It’s done. Taha O., suspected of the murder of Philippine in September then arrested in Switzerland, was handed over to the French authorities and must be presented to an investigating judge, we learned this Wednesday from a source close to the case, confirming information from BFMTV.
This 22-year-old Moroccan was extradited from Switzerland, where he fled after the murder of Philippine, a 19-year-old student at Paris-Dauphine University, whose body was discovered buried in Paris in the Bois de Boulogne. A judicial investigation was opened in Paris for rape and homicide.
Huge excitement and controversy
Philippine’s murder caused immense emotion in France and also a virulent public debate. The suspect had in fact already been convicted in 2021 for rape, then released in June 2024, “at the end of his sentence”, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. He was then placed in an administrative detention center in Metz.
Upon his release from detention, Taha O. was placed under house arrest in a hotel in Yonne, where he never went. Having failed to comply with his reporting obligation, he was included in the wanted persons file the day before the murder, September 19. He was under an obligation to leave the territory, which sparked strong reactions, in particular from the far right.
