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Updated October 2nd, 2021 at 16:43 IST

France's most-wanted serial killer 'Le Grele' was an ex-cop, reveals suicide note

Serial killer and rapist ‘Le Grele,’ or "pockmarked killer" whom French detectives and law enforcement searched for decades, was police officer that died Friday

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
France
IMAGE: Unsplash | Image:self
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In an incident that has shaken the Paris police, a suicide note left by an ex-french police officer revealed that he was actually one of the most dreaded serial killer, notoriously known as ‘Le Grele’ or 'the pockmarked killer,' whom the detectives and law enforcement in the country were hunting for decades. Former French cop Francois Verove detailed the shocking truth, unveiling his identity before claiming his own life in a rental flat in Grau-du-Roi town, just days after he was summoned for a DNA test in connection with series of mysterious murders. 

'Grele,' an infamous killer in France who terrorized Parisians for several years during the 1980s and ‘90s, had managed to elude police until now. The 59-year-old was employed as a French police officer and had remained undercover, a leading French magazine Le Parisien confirmed earlier yesterday. His corpse was recovered at the southern town of Grau-du-Roi. He was accused of six rapes and 4 murders during the 1980s. He killed himself shortly after the Police started suspecting him in the cases, including the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl Cecile Bloch. 

Was summoned for 'questioning'

The serial killer ‘Grele’ was summoned for questioning by the department in connection with a murder case for his pockmarked face. Fearing that he might finally be caught, the killer took his own life at a seaside resort near Montpellier. His identity was established after a post-mortem DNA report, which shocked the law-enforcement authorities after it came out. Throughout his life, the high-profile killer, who was wanted for series of rapes and killings in Paris had remained around the police as an officer. 

Some of his rape and murder victims were and 38-year-old Gilles Politi, 19-year-old Karine Leroy, 20-year-old Irmgard Müller, all of whom were tortured severely before killing. Another 19-year-old woman named Karine Leroy was yet another victim whose body was recovered savagely brutalized and tortured. Law enforcement authorities were on the lookout for the former cop, cum serial killer in a manhunt for 35 long years. Sources familiar with the development told France’s Le Parisien that the police had demanded that he appear before the committing magistrate, which he had dishonoured. He later attempted to dodge the DNA test. In his suicide letter, the now-deceased officer said that at the time he had committed those crimes, he was not in a good state of mind but had since "got himself together". 

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Published October 2nd, 2021 at 16:43 IST

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