German serial killer 'Man in Black' on trial for murder of 10-year-old French boy in 2004

Published connected 19/05/2026 - 12:38 GMT+2•Updated 12:57

A German serial slayer already successful situation for the murders of 3 children went connected proceedings successful France connected Tuesday implicit the abduction and sidesplitting of a 10-year-old lad during a schoolhouse travel successful 2004.

Martin Ney, dubbed "the antheral successful black", has been charged with execution and kidnapping implicit the disappearance of Jonathan Coulom astatine a schoolhouse vacation campy successful occidental France.

The boy's furniture was bare erstwhile his roommates woke up successful a dormitory astatine the seaside campy successful Saint-Brevin-les-Pins.

More than a period aboriginal Jonathan's assemblage was recovered weighed down by a factual artifact successful a pond adjacent the municipality of Guerande, astir 30 kilometres from wherever helium had disappeared.

A cord was tied astir his neck, feet and hands.

Ney, 55, has denied the charges.

Ney, who wore masks and balaclavas during his attacks, was jailed for beingness successful 2012 aft helium confessed to sidesplitting 3 boys aged 13, 8 and 9 betwixt 1992 and 2001.

In the archetypal weeks of the hunt for the missing lad successful France, German authorities informed French investigators that the circumstances of his disappearance resembled those of respective kid abductions and murders attributed to a fishy nicknamed the "man successful black."

Ney was arrested successful 2011. Although helium confessed to murdering 3 boys, helium denied abducting the lad successful France, claiming helium had not been successful the state astatine the time.

The probe took a caller crook successful 2017, erstwhile a erstwhile cellmate claimed to person heard Ney marque a confession.

Ney allegedly admitted to him that helium had killed a kid successful France, expressing astonishment that helium had not been identified by a antheral helium had encountered astatine the time.

Those statements echoed the grounds of a husbandman who had claimed years earlier that connected an evening successful April 2004, helium had encountered a antheral driving a sedan with German licence plates.

Ney was transferred to France successful 2021, wherever helium was placed nether investigation.

The proceedings represents the imaginable extremity of a "very agelong ineligible journey," Caty Richard, a lawyer who represents the boy's grandmother, told the AFP quality agency.

She said the household hoped that Ney would "finally instrumentality work and supply explanations."

The proceedings is expected to past until 5 June.