A man in his 20s has been charged by French police in connection with the suspected serial killings of four men in Paris, believed to have been targeted due to their sexual orientation. The bodies were discovered in Choisy-le-Roi earlier this month in a known cruising area along the River Seine.

Police were first alerted on August 13 when a train passenger spotted a body floating in the Seine. The discovery led to the recovery of three more bodies from the same area. Two of the victims showed signs of strangulation and violence, while the other two were in advanced stages of decomposition.

All four victims were men: a 48-year-old French citizen, a 21-year-old local resident, a 21-year-old Algerian national, and a 26-year-old Tunisian man. Authorities believe the most likely motive is related to the victims’ unconfirmed real or perceived sexual orientation. The rare charge of “multiple murders” under French law suggests serial killings, with all four deaths occurring in Paris within a span of just 16 days.

The suspect, whose identity remains unconfirmed, was detained on August 20 and has since been placed in pre-trial detention. He has so far refused to cooperate with police, and his lawyer, Antoine Ory, confirmed to French media that the man intends to respond to the charges at a later stage.

French media outlet Le Parisien reported that the case centres on a young man who arrived in France around three years ago and had been living in a squat near the riverbank for the past eight months.

The charged suspect became known to police prior to the discovery of the bodies on August 5, when police, conducting routine checks at the squat, found him in possession of mobile phones, identity papers, and bank cards that did not belong to him. The documents belonged to two of the victims, whose disappearances had not yet been reported. The suspect allegedly used one of the victim’s SIM cards to place a call and another victim’s bank card to make a purchase. DNA testing and forensic analysis later linked him to another victim, with blood from Franz allegedly found on the suspect’s clothing.

He was charged on August 24 with multiple murders and is expected to face trial in the coming months.

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