Police in Cambodia believe they have found the bodies of a Frenchman and his four children who all went missing last year.
A number of bones and skulls recovered from a car found dumped in a pond behind Laurent Vallier's home 45 miles away from the capital Phnom Penh are believed to be those of the Frenchman and his offspring.
The 42-year-old, and his two sons and two daughters, disappeared from their home in Kompong Speu province in September and the French Embassy became involved in November.
Mr Vallier’s father-in-law, 69-year-old Tith Chhuon, was at the scene yesterday and is believed to have identified his grandchildren as Johan, 11, Ramsey, 8, Sovan, 5, and Mickeal, 2.
He confirmed that the family had been missing since at least September 8, when he went to visit them, only to find that they were nowhere to be found.
'I wasn't with him when he died, I have to live with that forever': Ambulance staff refused to let wife drive to hospital with dying husband - and left her by side of road in a blizzard
He said: 'I filed a complaint with the French embassy and went to get information from the embassy six times. I just received the news on Saturday.'
'My son-in-law did not kill his kids and commit suicide. Someone killed them.'
The embassy said in a statement it had been informed of the discovery of the remains but that, 'because of the state of the corpses, it is impossible to confirm that these are the bodies of Monsieur Vallier and his children'.
Police said one skull had been found inside an open suitcase, having apparently floated in there after the car was submerged.
In a statement, the French embassy said it had been informed of the discovery of the remains but that, 'because of the state of the corpses, it is impossible to confirm that these are the bodies of Monsieur Vallier and his children'.
Police said one skull had been found inside an open suitcase, having apparently floated in there after the car was submerged.
Relatives of Vallier's Cambodian wife, who died during childbirth, held a religious ceremony for the dead on Sunday.
Neighbours were shocked to learn of the grim discovery.
'We just saw him taking his children to school every day and then they just disappeared. We thought they'd gone on holiday,' said Chuob Srey.
Police would not comment further because of the preliminary stage of the inquiry.
'We don't know whether this was a robbery or a murder. Just let our expert team work on it,' said district Police Chief Touch Heang.
Mr Vallier married his wife in 2000 in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district before eventually settling in Kampong Speu in 2007.
However she died in October, 2010, during the delivery of their youngest boy, Mickeal leaving Laurent as the sole carer for the four.
According to local media, Mr Vallier worked as a tour guide, until his mysterious disappearance.
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:53 PM on 16th January 2012
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087342/Laurent-Vallier-bodies-believed-Cambodia-car.html#ixzz1jdq76XfF
0 comments:
Post a Comment