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The suspect was frustrated after losing a game of Fortnite, after which he left his home to vent his frustration. He crossed paths with the victim and attempted to rob her.
Louise Laselle, 11, was stabbed to death by the Frenchman on February 7. (Photo: X)
In a shocking incident, a Frenchman admitted to murdering an 11-year-old girl earlier this month after he flew into a rage over losing a game of Fortnite, as per French media reports.
The man, identified as Owen L, confessed to police that he was “angry” over losing the popular video game and reportedly had a fight with another gamer, who insulted him, before leaving to go outside and walk around to release his frustration.
The suspect intercepted Louise Lasalle, 11, who was on her way home from middle school on February 7, the New York Post reported. He decided to “rob or extort money from someone to calm down” but accidentally crossed paths with Louise “whom he did not know”, said prosecutor Grégoire Dulin.
“He spotted her mobile, which she was carrying on a cord around her neck, and decided to follow her,” said Dulin, adding that the suspect lured the girl into the woods by telling her that he had lost something.
“When they reached a quiet spot, he told her he was going to search her things to steal money, while threatening her with a knife,” the prosecutor further said. “She started screaming. Panicked, he pushed her to the ground and stabbed her.”
Louise’s body was located by police in the town of Epinay-sur-Orge about 25 km from Paris on February 8, around 12 hours after her parents reported her missing. Her phone was found beside her body, with no traces of sexual assault.
According to local media reports, the man had tried to get another girl to go into the woods with him but she refused. The man also reportedly told his girlfriend that he had “done something serious” and had gotten rid of the murder weapon, bleaching his clothes and throwing them in the garbage.
The 24-year-old girlfriend has been charged with not reporting a crime.
The suspect lived with his parents and had a rap sheet with a history of petty crime. His older sister had once filed a police complaint against him in 2023 accusing him of being violent and aggressive.
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