Dijon: a 53-year-old woman killed, her companion arrested

A fifty-year-old woman was found at her home in Dijon, fatally injured, and her companion was immediately arrested for “homicide by a partner”, announced the Dijon prosecutor's office.

During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the police intervened following a call from neighbors, worried by screams in an apartment in the sensitive district of Fontaine d'Ouche, said Dijon prosecutor Arnaud Viornery. A 53-year-old woman was discovered “unresponsive in a room and with injuries to her face and ribs,” he said in a press release. He was pronounced dead shortly after.

The police also surprised a 34-year-old man, “in a great state of excitement, who was trying to jump from the 2nd floor.” Arrested, he was placed in police custody after the opening of a flagrant investigation into the charge of homicide by a partner, according to Mr. Viornery. The accused, who is not known for acts of domestic violence, had recently been seeing the victim who worked as a maintenance worker, according to the prosecutor.

In a press release, the mayor of Dijon Nathalie Koenders (PS) expressed her “thoughts of this woman, her children, her family and her loved ones”. “Violence against women continues to kill (...) At a time when Parliament is examining a comprehensive law against sexist and sexual violence against women and children, we must collectively continue to make this fight a priority,” she reacted in a press release.

In 2024, 107 women were killed by their spouse or ex-spouse, after 96 in 2023, an increase of 11%, according to the latest data from the Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women.