A French couple were arrested on suspicion of having been involved in the death of two babies in South Korea after a DNA test conducted in France confirmed they are the parents of the babies, a French prosecutor said Tuesday.
The babies were found dead in a freezer of the couple's Seoul apartment on July 23. The couple, Jean-Louis Courjault, 40, and his wife Veronique Courjault, 39, have denied they are the parents and have refused to come back to South Korea to face an inquiry.
"There is a 99.99 percent chance that the Courjault couple are the parents of the two dead children," Philippe Varin, public prosecutor in Tours, a city southwest of Paris, said in a news conference. Varin added the couple were arrested at a house of their friend in Tours. Varin also said the cause of the babies' deaths is unclear.
Mr. Courjault refused to answer questions from reporters, saying "I have nothing to tell."
The couple can be held for up to 48 hours for questioning before a judge decides whether to put them behind bars, according to officials at the South Korean Embassy in France.
"The question now is if the couple abandoned the babies after they were dead or if the couple killed them," one of the officials said.
Under a revised French criminal act, a murderer can receive a sentence of up to 30 years in jail or a life sentence if the victim is aged 15 or younger.
The investigation by the French police began last month after South Korean police, seeking judicial cooperation, sent materials secured in investigations by its police and prosecution, including the DNA samples.
Paris, Oct. 10 (Yonhap News)
French couple arrested in deaths of two infants in South Korea |
