Vienna. Death of jogger Agathe Hilairet: What do we know about the prime suspect?
A 59-year-old man has been in police custody in Poitiers since Wednesday. He was previously convicted of rape and was released from prison last year.
The investigation is accelerating in the case of Agathe Hilairet, named after the 28-year-old jogger who disappeared in April and was found dead in early May in Vienne: four months after the discovery of the young woman's body south of Poitiers, three men were arrested on Wednesday . While two of them were questioned in a voluntary hearing, the third is being held in police custody.
"A person is being held in custody on a letter of request," confirmed Rachel Bray, the public prosecutor in Poitiers, on Thursday morning, adding that her next communication would be made on Friday via a press release.
What do we know about the prime suspect?The man in custody is known to the File of Perpetrators of Sexual or Violent Offenses (Fijais), a source close to the case said. According to Le Parisien , the 59-year-old man, who lives in Vivonne, was released from detention in April 2024 after more than 20 years in prison for raping two women, including a jogger. At his trial, the public prosecutor described him as "a dangerous, violent man, incapable of resisting his urges."
According to BFM TV , the suspect in custody by investigators from the Poitiers gendarmerie's research section is being held on charges of "murder" and "rape."
On May 4, a walker discovered the body of Agathe Hilairet in the undergrowth near Vivonne , 20 km south of Poitiers. This trail runner had gone for a run on the morning of April 10 from her parents' home in Vivonne, before she lost contact.
The young woman's body was located on the outskirts of the search area, the prosecutor's office said at the time.
What do we know about his death?Examination of the jogger's geolocation established that the body had been moved, supporting the criminal theory.
According to the young woman's smartwatch, equipped with a heart rate monitor and GPS, her heart stopped at the spot where the dogs lost track of her during the police search, but her body was found less than a kilometer away.
According to Le Parisien , the examination of the heart rate sensor also revealed "a significant and sudden increase in the athlete's heart rate, immediately followed by a definitive cessation of the pulse."
Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire
