Mother of three, 31, is burned alive by her husband who chased her down the street and shot her in the legs before dousing her in petrol and setting her alight in France
- A French mother-of-three, 31, was burned alive by her husband, 44, on Tuesday
- The attack took place in Merignac neighbourhood, by Bordeaux airport, France
- The mother was chased down the street and shot in the legs by her husband
- The man doused her in a flammable liquid and set her alight, French police said
A mother-of-three was horrifically shot in the legs and burned alive by her husband in broad daylight, French police said on Wednesday.
The horrendous attack took place in broad daylight on Tuesday in the well-heeled Merignac neighbourhood, near Bordeaux airport, in southwestern France.
The French mother, 31, was chased down the street by her husband, 44, who then shot her in the legs before dousing her in a flammable liquid and setting her alight.
The man fired several shots at the woman as she fled down a street, hitting her in the legs. After she collapsed, he set her alight, police said.
A French mother-of-three, 31, was shot in the legs and burned alive by her husband in broad daylight on Tuesday in the Merignac neighbourhood, near Bordeaux airport (file image)
The woman and the man were separated while their children – aged three, seven and 11 – lived with the murdered mother.
The man was arrested half an hour after the murder in the neighbouring district of Pessac, armed with a pistol, a pellet gun and a cartridge belt, the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office said.
He is suspected both of his wife’s murder and of having started fire that damaged her home.
Local authorities have set up a counselling service for the witnesses to the grisly killing.
The couple’s children were not at home at the time of the attack, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that they were receiving trauma counselling.
The issue of domestic violence and killings sparked protests in France in 2019.
Campaigners complained that women who attempted to report abusive partners to the police were often being turned away.
That year saw 146 women reported killed by a spouse or partner, a 21-percent increase on the previous year.
After an outcry, the government introduced the use of electronic bracelets to alert victims when their attackers are nearby. In 2020, the number of killings fell to 90.