Overview
- The couple in their 60s were found Thursday around 9 p.m. in Val-de-Livre (Marne) after their son forced entry and a doctor declared both dead at the scene.
- The woman was discovered on the floor with a head injury and signs of strangulation, and the man was found hanging in a nearby grange on the family property.
- The Reims prosecutor opened an investigation for intentional homicide of a spouse, noting the pair were in a contentious separation and that the husband had been depressed with a recent suicide attempt.
- Investigators reported blood traces on a stove handle wrapped in a quilt and small stains on a sofa, while the autopsy concluded death by manual asphyxia consistent with the working hypothesis.
- The Reims research brigade is conducting interviews with relatives, and the prosecutor says the case will likely be closed without prosecution unless new evidence emerges.