Men confess to brutal murder in France after over 20 years on the run, living under false identities
Two men appeared in court on Monday to admit to the brutal murder of a Frenchman in 2003 after more than two decades on the run.
In February 2003, the body of salesman Philippe Charuel was found in a roadside ditch in Gondeville, eastern France.
According to the investigation, two young prostitutes reported being harassed when Charuel left a bar near the train station in Nancy on the evening of February 19, 2023.
He was then taken into a black BMW by two men, later identified as Christian Rad and Vasile Ostas.
According to Spanish police, the two suspected pimps were arrested near Barcelona in August 2023 after nearly 22 years in hiding.
They lived in Catalonia under false identities for about 20 years. According to “Le Parisien”Ladd has since become a father of two and worked as a concierge at a luxury hotel, while Ostas became a security guard.
Aostasi’s lawyer Eléonore Dupleix tell france 3her client has still not been charged.
“We’ll find out what they’re going to say at the hearing and what the versions of both sides are,” Dupleix said.
In 2011, the two men had been sentenced in absentia to 30 and 26 years in prison.
Austas, a 52-year-old Romanian citizen, told the court he “admitted” the facts and said he was “sorry” multiple times.
“I hit him, but I didn’t want him to die,” he said of Charul. “I ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims” and “from French society.”
Ostas’ nephew Ladd, 40, also admitted hitting the victim “with his hand” in front of the two women and his uncle.
“I saw a lot of violence. It was shocking to me, too. I thought a lot about (Charuel’s family) throughout the night,” he said.
Charuel was described as “a man with no past history” who frequented nightclubs, had recently separated from his wife and was the father of a young child.
Presiding judge Therese Diligent said his body was found with 20 injuries to his abdomen, several broken ribs and “multiple cuts and injuries” to his face, including a broken jaw and missing teeth.
A verdict is expected on Friday.
