A 39-year-old woman from Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, was arrested on November 2 and placed in pre-trial detention after a body was found "severed in two" on the banks of the River Saône in Fedry, France. The remains are believed to be those of her 75-year-old landlord, who had been reported missing a day earlier. Prosecutors say the victim likely died from a stab wound to the chest and was dismembered after death; investigators also noted burns and defensive wounds. Swiss and French police are cooperating while identification and forensic work continue.
Tenant Detained in Switzerland After Landlord's Body 'Severed in Two' Found in France
A 39-year-old woman from Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, was arrested on November 2 and placed in pre-trial detention after a body was found "severed in two" on the banks of the River Saône in Fedry, France. The remains are believed to be those of her 75-year-old landlord, who had been reported missing a day earlier. Prosecutors say the victim likely died from a stab wound to the chest and was dismembered after death; investigators also noted burns and defensive wounds. Swiss and French police are cooperating while identification and forensic work continue.
18:57, 05.11.2025Society
Tenant detained after gruesome discovery on French riverbank
A 39-year-old French national who lives in the Swiss village of Sainte-Croix has been placed in pre-trial detention after authorities announced a body discovered in neighbouring France had been "severed in two," Swiss police said.
Police in the canton of Vaud said the woman was arrested by a border guard patrol on November 2 and is suspected of having set fire to her apartment and of involvement in the disappearance of her 75-year-old landlord. The landlord had been reported missing a day before the body was found.
Multiple sources told AFP that the remains were recovered on Saturday on the banks of the River Saône in the village of Fedry. The victim, reported to be a 75-year-old Swiss man and owner of the apartment where the arrested woman lived as a tenant, was found wearing only underwear and had been severed at the waist.
"You don't see this every day... I've never witnessed anything like this," said Jean Roblet, the mayor of the village where the remains were recovered, speaking to local outlet RTL.
Prosecutor Arnaud Grecourt of Haute-Saône's Vesoul district said investigators observed a burn on the back and multiple wounds to the skull, hand, neck and torso. Wounds on the hands were described as suggestive of defensive injuries, and several injuries pointed to the use of a sharp instrument. Initial autopsy findings indicate the victim likely died from bleeding caused by a stab wound to the chest, and that the body was apparently dismembered after death.
Cross-border cooperation and legal status
Vaud police said they are working closely with French counterparts. The arrested woman is under criminal investigation and is suspected of arson in connection with a blaze at her apartment the day after the landlord was reported missing; she was detained shortly after that fire and questioned by border authorities.
Authorities emphasized the investigation is ongoing and identification procedures are not yet complete. "At this stage, she is still presumed innocent," Vaud police said, and they have declined to release further details while inquiries continue.
Note: This is an active and sensitive criminal investigation; information may change as authorities complete identification and forensic work.