The investigation into the fire that gutted a studio apartment on Rue de Charonne (11th arrondissement) in Paris on Sunday has taken an unexpected turn. On the evening of April 7, at around 8:15 pm, a fire of as yet undetermined origin broke out in the small apartment, mobilizing almost 70 firefighters and some 17 engines. The bodies of two people were discovered. A third person had tried to escape the blaze by climbing the facade to reach a neighboring apartment but fell from the 7th floor. She was seriously injured and died shortly afterward.
Investigations initially pointed to a gas leak. As the building was not connected to the city network, "it may have been a leaking gas cylinder," explained Luc Lebon, deputy mayor of the arrondissement, speaking to France Télévisions broadcaster on April 9. However, the investigation was redirected following the testimony of local residents, who claimed to have heard one or more explosions before the fire broke out.
According to BFM-TV, an examination of the two charred bodies then revealed wounds which, according to a judicial source, "could have been caused by bullets fired from a firearm." The same source added that "at this stage, it is not yet possible to determine the exact nature of the wounds, nor the type of firearm that may have been used."
The investigation was initially entrusted to the 2nd district of the judicial police, which covers the 11th arrondissement. But the possibility of a double homicide and the complexity of the crime scene led to its transfer to the criminal brigade at 36 Rue du Bastion, the Parisian judicial police headquarters.
Hydrocarbon traces
"The results of the autopsies carried out have led the prosecutor's office to refer the case to the criminal brigade on charges of deliberate homicide and 'deliberate destruction of the property of others by a means dangerous to persons,'" confirmed the Paris prosecutor's office on April 9. The judicial authorities did not specify whether the two victims found in the apartment had been formally identified, unlike the individual who fell to her death. The latter was found in possession of a subscription card for the Paris public transit network, and is believed to be the official tenant of the studio where the events took place. A source close to the investigation said that "no lead is being pursued at the moment, although the possibility of a double homicide followed by arson is receiving particular attention."
Rags bearing traces of hydrocarbons were found in the studio near one of the bodies. In addition to establishing the identities of the two victims found in the apartment, investigators are now trying to determine the sequence of events and, in particular, the exact nature and timing of the bangs that several local residents claim to have heard before the fire broke out in the apartment. They are also trying to find out why the person who fell from the 7th floor was found in possession of several cell phones.