The mother of the victim, identified as 13-year-old Romain, is blaming authorities for letting a dangerous man walk around fre.
A teenage boy lost his life after falling prey to a psychotic cannibal in Tarascon, which is 60 miles from the city of Marseille. The murdered teenager who has been identified as Romain, 13, was discovered on July 18 by the police, who were responding to complaints by neighbors regarding “a terrible smell” emanating from a villa. A cleaner visited the house finally and found Romain’s dismembered body parts including a partially-eaten head stuffed inside a bag.
The killer, identified as Arthur A, was gunned down while escaping.
Tarascon prosecutor Laurent Gumbau said they had to use DNA testing for identification purposes as the body was mutilated beyond recognition. This case is reminiscent of Spanish cannibal Alberto Sanchez Gomez, 28, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in June for committing matricide in 2019. He killed his mom, cut her body up in 1000 pieces, ate some of it, and fed some to his dog. Similarly, Eduard Seleznev of Russia who killed three of his friends and ate their body parts between March 2016 to March 2017 was sentenced to life in a special regime colony in February this year. Andrés Mendoza of Mexico confessed to 30 murders and also confessed to eating the body parts of his victims after killing them in May 2021.
Who was Arthur A?
Gumbau confirmed that Arthur A was released from a psych ward earlier this month. He was known for setting fires in the area surrounding his house and he was admitted to the mental hospital after he was found guilty of hanging local dogs till they died. He then ate the animals. Police also described the perpetrator as violent and lonely. Neighbors knew Arthur A to be unstable and he had lived in the Tarascon house since the death of his father from cancer and his mother’s demise 15 years ago.
Arthur A had lured Romain who was reportedly on his way from his foster home in Marseille to visit his mother who lived on the same street as the killer. The teen who had spent the majority of his life in and out of foster homes was killed on July 16, two days before his body was discovered. The cleaner who found Romain’s body was shocked at the discovery and speaking to a local newspaper she said, ”Romain was beheaded and his upper body wrapped in plastic. I don’t know how you can do that to a child. It’s inhuman. Arthur seemed totally normal.” She is blaming authorities for letting a dangerous killer be on the loose.
Romain’s biological mother was devastated and was heard screaming after the news of her son’s murder was delivered to her. ”He killed my son, he killed my baby,” she reportedly said. An investigation into the horrific death was launched immediately after the body was found. According to neighbors, Arthur A was spotted trying to escape the villa through the roof. He was spotted by the police three hours after they began looking for him. After being confronted by the police, he attempted to threaten them and began to flee the scene. That’s when he was gunned down.
