Man with prior domestic violence conviction kills partner, then himself in Limay, France

What happened

Police were alerted shortly before 10 a.m. on Saturday by the mother of the suspect, Ismaël T., after he called her via video call and confessed to slitting his partner's throat. Officers forced entry into the couple's third-floor apartment on avenue du Président Wilson in Limay, a commune west of Paris.

Inside, they found Océane, also 29, lying in her own blood near the entrance with severe neck wounds from a knife. Ismaël T. had stabbed himself multiple times and was dying. Emergency services attempted resuscitation, but both were pronounced dead around 10:30 a.m.

The couple's two minor children were at their grandparents' home at the time and were unharmed.

The suspect's background

Ismaël T. was already known to police. In 2022 he was sentenced to two years in prison, including six months suspended with probation, for violence against his partner while she was pregnant. A police source told AFP that no ongoing domestic violence disputes involving the couple were known.

His mother told authorities he suffered from psychiatric disorders, though the Versailles prosecutor's office said it could not confirm that at this stage of the investigation.

Investigation

The hypothesis of a femicide followed by a suicide is favoured, but remains only a working hypothesis at this stage of the inquiry.

The prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for murder by a spouse, entrusted to the Division de la criminalité territoriale (DCT).

National picture

France recorded 107 women killed by their partner or ex-partner in 2024, up from 96 in 2023, according to the interministerial mission for the protection of women (Miprof).