Philippine's death: Murder suspect already in jail, for how long ?

Suspected of the murder of Philippine, a 19-year-old student years old, Taha Oualidat was indicted and placed in pretrial detention this Wednesday.

Taha Oualidat is the prime suspect in the murder of Philippine, a 19-year-old student whose body was found in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris at the end of September. This Wednesday, November 6, he was handed over to the French authorities, after having fled to Switzerland. He had initially refused to be extradited. The suspect's transfer took place without incident in Haute-Savoie, Annemasse. 

He was then brought before an investigating judge who charged him with “murder accompanied or followed by another crime, “rape, “theft “and fraud, as a repeat offender,” the Paris prosecutor's office said. The suspect was then placed in in pretrial detention.

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During his interrogation, the 22-year-old Moroccan remained silent, as reported by BFMTV. He appeared worried, head down, black hair pulled back, dressed in a jogging suit. The judge of liberty and detention finally ordered a closed hearing: no information on this hearing for the press. At the end of the hearing, the lawyer for the accused made no statement.

What sentence for the suspect in Philippine's murder ?

The Paris prosecutor's office indicated that the suspect, who is to be tried, faces “life imprisonment”, which represents at least 22 years of imprisonment given what the law sets as a “security period”. For certain very serious crimes and depending on the circumstances, this security period can last up to 30 years old.

“The investigations are now continuing under the direction of the investigating judges in charge of the case with the aim of establishing the circumstances of the commission of the facts and the background of the person charged”. 

The profile of the suspect had provoked strong reactions in France since he had already been convicted for rape in 2021 on a student in a forest but was released from prison in 2024. He was placed in an administrative detention center in Metz while at the same time, an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) was issued against him. On September 3, he was authorized to leave the center but was assigned to residence in a hotel in Yonne where he did not show up. Taha Oualidat thus disappeared into thin air, a few weeks before Philippine's body was found.