The 30-year-old corpse of a homeless man who was believed to have been stabbed to death was found rotting in the basement of a €35m mansion in Paris that is being restored was discovered and haltered the mansion's restoration.
Snuggled in the well-off neighborhood of Faubourg Saint-Germain, residence to French nobility for hundreds of years and was once resided by play write and poet Francois Coopee, since the 1980s the deserted complex has been left empty.
The mansion was sold in January in a bidding that lasted for 15 minutes.
Investment banker Jean-Bernard Lafonta bought the mansion for €35.1m (£29.9m), which was nearly six times the reserve.
On February 26, a cadaver underneath rubbers and planks were discovered by technicians who were dispatched to secure the 17,000-square-foot crumbling building, as reported by Le Monde.
According to Mirror, Sabin Lebreton, local group head committed to conserving the mansion, told Le Parisien that everyone was shattered to know that the corpse has been in the mansion, without any one of them knowing.
Ms. Lebreton then told the newspaper that just before the lockdown in February, the works on the building were being handled well and the renovation of the mansion was moving smoothly, adding that rubble trucks were leaving the site every day, then suddenly, everything has stopped.
After broken bones and knife wound evidence were discovered on the body, a murder investigation was launched.
Identity papers enabled the authority to reveal the identity of the victim, then it came out that it was Jean-Pierre Renaud, a drunken vagrant, and according to the forensics team Mr. Renaud died around 30 years ago. The detectives of the murder feared it sounds impossible for them to identify who the killer was since the body was left with broken bones and knife wounds.
A police source told Le Monde that Mr. Renaud was homeless with a drinking problem, and added that they could imagine a fight with a person living at the edges of society. But it was still unclear if the victim died in the mansion or his body was brought there after being killed. The police source articulated they might be a possibility for them not to find out who was responsible for the death of Mr. Renaud.
The source uttered that it is possible that the murderer is already dead, Daily Mail reported.
Renaud's closest living relatives have been informed of his death, as confirmed by the police.
Jean-Bernard Lafonta, formerly of the Lazard Bank, BNP Paribas, and Wendel Investissement, refused to comment on the discovery of a 30-year-old dead body on his newly owned property.
Restoration of the mansion, which is a few minute-ride from the official residence of the prime minister, is expected to carry on after the summer.
The mansion was placed on the market by its Dutch owners at the beginning of the year, billing it as the last truly pronounced property in the capital's most sought-after hood.
According to Le Parisien, the 17,000-square-foot property is being developed into offices of an international company.
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