Police have revealed the identity of a woman whose dismembered body was found in a park in a horror Valentine’s Day incident in Paris, France.
Officers were called to Buttes-Chaumont Park in Paris, France, after staff discovered the lower torso of a woman in a plastic bag on Monday, February 13.
The next day more remains were found, including a decapitated head found at the end of a disused railway line.
Using the victim’s fingerprints, authorities in the French capital learned the body belonged to 46-year-old married mum-of-three Assia Matoug, who disappeared from her home in Seine-Saint-Denis, a northeastern district of the city, on January 31.
Police said the woman was likely killed before she was dismembered and added that she was still clothed in floral-patterned jeans when the grisly ritual took place.
“Obviously, the body was cut dressed,” a source said.
“The corpse was not in a state of putrefaction, which seems to attest to a recent death.”
Parts of Mrs Matoug’s body were found in a wooded area of the 61-acre park popular with families and joggers, with some of the remains having been stashed in plastic bags.
The source added: “The first bag was found in an area used by park workers to dump waste.
“It was hidden under a pile of leaves, and inside was a section of the body cut from below the chest to the knees.”
Mrs Matoug was reported missing by her husband, Youcef Matoug, on February 6, a week after she initially vanished.
Her husband was said to be “in a state of great distress” and juggling his grief with looking after the couple’s three children, aged eight, 14 and 17.
“He was in a state of shock, and said he had been too overcome with grief to speak to police earlier,” said an investigating source.
Up until now, police had no leads in their hunt for the mum-of-three’s killer.
Police have opened a murder inquiry and a major search operation, which saw the park temporarily cordoned off, was launched on Tuesday, February 14.
A diving team has also been called in to search the park’s lake following the discovery.
No suspects have been identified so far.
Buttes-Chaumont Park, opened in 1867, is the fifth-largest park in the French capital and is a popular spot with families and tourists.
The green space is home to a number of popular attractions including the famous Temple de la Sibylle, which sits on top of the artificial lake.
