French police arrested Monday two suspects in the murder of a French Jewish politician in a suburb of Paris.
Alain Ghozland, 73, was found dead last week at an apartment owned by his mother in Creitel. Police traced DNA found at the crime scene to one of the suspects, while the other suspect’s spare mobile phone revealed he had been at the site during the murder.
Police sources say that the suspects, aged 21 and 23, have criminal records and have committed various crimes together in the past. The autopsy revealed Ghozland was beaten all over his body, but was killed by suffocation.
Police discovered Ghozland’s body after his brother called police when he failed to show up at their synagogue, as he usually does each morning. His 102-year-old mother was not home at the time of the murder.
Ghozland, a member of the Republican party, was active in Creitel’s Jewish community. His father, Haim Ghozland, was one of the founders of Creitel’s Jewish community and served as deputy mayor.
Police sources say it is too early to determine whether the murder was motivated by anti-Semitism or was strictly criminal, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
Creteil, about seven miles from the heart of Paris, was the site of a rape and robbery committed in December 2014 against a Jewish couple by robbers who said they were targeted because they were Jews.
