Police have reportedly made a breakthrough following the discovery of a woman's severed head in a Paris park last week, not long after her husband reported her missing.
French prosecutors revealed that they had opened a murder enquiry after several body parts belonging to 46-year-old Assia Matoug were located in the Buttes-Chaumont park in Paris' 19th arrondissement - a popular location for movies and TV series, including Emily in Paris, per The Mirror.
"Fingerprint analysis had identified the woman, who is married and of North African origin," an investigating source detailed.
They added: "She lived locally with her husband, who reported her missing earlier in February. He is being interviewed at length."
Now, it appears that Matoug's husband Youcef has been arrested in connection with the gruesome killing. According to Le Parisien, Youcef had gone to the police station accompanied by his three children on Thursday (February 23). He could potentially be charged with "murder, attack on the integrity of a corpse and concealment of a corpse."
The outlet details that Youcef reported his wife missing on February 6, though police allegedly discovered some inconsistencies in his account. They claim that Matoug was seen a week before on January 31.
He allegedly told cops he went looking for her, and said he was "overwhelmed by events". It comes after the dismembered body parts were found in separate bags on February 13 and 14, The Sun detailed.
Gardeners found Matoug's torso in one plastic bag, according to a source close to the case. Le Parisien detailed that the torso appeared to have been surgically cut from the chest to the knees, while Matoug's decapitated head was located the following day, concealed by some foliage and near an abandoned railway line.
"The first bag was found on Monday in an area used by park workers to dump waste," a source said, via The Mirror. "It was hidden under a pile of leaves, and inside was a section of the body cut from below the chest to the knees."
The park where the body parts were discovered was closed to the public while police continued their investigation and looked for evidence.
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