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http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/...odia-police-find-5-bodies-in-frenchman-s-car/
Cambodia police find 5 bodies in Frenchman's car
AFP Updated January 14, 2012, 10:40 pm
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Cambodian police examine a car as they try to retrieve the vehicle from a pond in Kampong Speu province. Cambodian police have found five bodies, two of them stuffed in a suitcase, in a car belonging to a Frenchman who had been missing for months with his four children.
AFP © Enlarge photo
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodian police on Saturday found five bodies, two of them stuffed in a suitcase, in a car belonging to a Frenchman who had been missing for months with his four children, officials said.
The gruesome discovery was made after the white 4x4 vehicle owned by widower Laurent Vallier, 42, was retrieved from a pond on his property in the southern province of Kampong Speu, said Chhay Sinarith, director of the interior ministry's internal security department.
"After removing the car from the pond, we found the remains of five people. We conclude that they are those of the missing French family," he told AFP.
"The bones of two kids were put in a suitcase that was also in the car," he said, adding that police were still investigating the cause of death for all five victims.
A source at the French embassy in Phnom Penh told AFP he could only confirm that "the remains of five people", in a badly decomposed state, had been found in Vallier's car, which is thought to have lain submerged for weeks.
The embassy official stressed that none of the victims had been officially identified and that an investigation was still ongoing.
Vallier and his two sons and two daughters, aged two to nine, had been missing since September. Vallier's Cambodian wife died in childbirth in 2009.
According to local media, Vallier worked as a tour guide.
Vallier's parents in France first raised the alarm about his disappearance in November, when they informed the French embassy they hadn't heard from him since September.
Local police paid a visit to Vallier's house in early January where they found photographs of the French citizen and his children, which they distributed nationwide to widen the search for the family.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...Cambodia-probes-bodies-in-Frenchmans-car.html
Cambodia probes bodies in Frenchman's car
Cambodian police were investigating the deaths of five people yesterday – presumed to be a missing Frenchman and his four children – whose skeletal remains were found in a submerged car.
Police officials collect skulls and bones thought to be of Laurent Vallier and his children in Kompong Speu province
Police officials collect skulls and bones thought to be of Laurent Vallier and his children in Kompong Speu province Photo: REUTERS/Samrang Pring
1:58PM GMT 15 Jan 2012
The white 4x4 vehicle owned by widower Laurent Vallier, 42, was retrieved from a pond behind his house in southern Kampong Speu province on Saturday. The family was last seen in September.
"We're still investigating the case. We can't confirm the cause of death," said Keo Pisey, provincial police chief.
An AFP reporter who visited the site saw at least four human skulls laid out on a white sheet next to the muddied vehicle, as well as an open suitcase.
Police officials and the French embassy in Phnom Penh said that it was impossible to immediately identify the victims because of the badly decomposed state of their bodies.
But Chhay Sinarith, director of the interior ministry's internal security department, said they were presumed to be Vallier and his children, aged two to 11, since four of the skulls appeared to be relatively small.
"We are still waiting for the results from the experts," he said.
"Now we are appealing for witnesses who may recognise the clothes and the shoes we found in the car. It's most likely the remains belong to the missing French family."
Chhay Sinarith initially said the bones of two children were found inside a suitcase, but a police officer close to the investigation told AFP that the case was broken and the bones might have drifted in there over time, as the car is thought to have lain submerged for weeks.
Among the dozens of onlookers gathered behind the police tape at the scene was Sar Savi, 42, the mother of Vallier's Cambodian wife, who died in childbirth in 2009. "I am in shock," she said.
Vallier's father-in-law Tith Chhuon, 69, said he believed the Frenchman and the children were murdered. "He would not commit suicide. I know his heart," he said.
Vallier, who according to his relatives worked as a tour guide, is thought to have moved from France to Cambodia around 12 years ago, arriving in Kampong Speu in 2007.
Cambodia police find 5 bodies in Frenchman's car
AFP Updated January 14, 2012, 10:40 pm
tweet
Cambodian police examine a car as they try to retrieve the vehicle from a pond in Kampong Speu province. Cambodian police have found five bodies, two of them stuffed in a suitcase, in a car belonging to a Frenchman who had been missing for months with his four children.
AFP © Enlarge photo
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodian police on Saturday found five bodies, two of them stuffed in a suitcase, in a car belonging to a Frenchman who had been missing for months with his four children, officials said.
The gruesome discovery was made after the white 4x4 vehicle owned by widower Laurent Vallier, 42, was retrieved from a pond on his property in the southern province of Kampong Speu, said Chhay Sinarith, director of the interior ministry's internal security department.
"After removing the car from the pond, we found the remains of five people. We conclude that they are those of the missing French family," he told AFP.
"The bones of two kids were put in a suitcase that was also in the car," he said, adding that police were still investigating the cause of death for all five victims.
A source at the French embassy in Phnom Penh told AFP he could only confirm that "the remains of five people", in a badly decomposed state, had been found in Vallier's car, which is thought to have lain submerged for weeks.
The embassy official stressed that none of the victims had been officially identified and that an investigation was still ongoing.
Vallier and his two sons and two daughters, aged two to nine, had been missing since September. Vallier's Cambodian wife died in childbirth in 2009.
According to local media, Vallier worked as a tour guide.
Vallier's parents in France first raised the alarm about his disappearance in November, when they informed the French embassy they hadn't heard from him since September.
Local police paid a visit to Vallier's house in early January where they found photographs of the French citizen and his children, which they distributed nationwide to widen the search for the family.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...Cambodia-probes-bodies-in-Frenchmans-car.html
Cambodia probes bodies in Frenchman's car
Cambodian police were investigating the deaths of five people yesterday – presumed to be a missing Frenchman and his four children – whose skeletal remains were found in a submerged car.
Police officials collect skulls and bones thought to be of Laurent Vallier and his children in Kompong Speu province
Police officials collect skulls and bones thought to be of Laurent Vallier and his children in Kompong Speu province Photo: REUTERS/Samrang Pring
1:58PM GMT 15 Jan 2012
The white 4x4 vehicle owned by widower Laurent Vallier, 42, was retrieved from a pond behind his house in southern Kampong Speu province on Saturday. The family was last seen in September.
"We're still investigating the case. We can't confirm the cause of death," said Keo Pisey, provincial police chief.
An AFP reporter who visited the site saw at least four human skulls laid out on a white sheet next to the muddied vehicle, as well as an open suitcase.
Police officials and the French embassy in Phnom Penh said that it was impossible to immediately identify the victims because of the badly decomposed state of their bodies.
But Chhay Sinarith, director of the interior ministry's internal security department, said they were presumed to be Vallier and his children, aged two to 11, since four of the skulls appeared to be relatively small.
"We are still waiting for the results from the experts," he said.
"Now we are appealing for witnesses who may recognise the clothes and the shoes we found in the car. It's most likely the remains belong to the missing French family."
Chhay Sinarith initially said the bones of two children were found inside a suitcase, but a police officer close to the investigation told AFP that the case was broken and the bones might have drifted in there over time, as the car is thought to have lain submerged for weeks.
Among the dozens of onlookers gathered behind the police tape at the scene was Sar Savi, 42, the mother of Vallier's Cambodian wife, who died in childbirth in 2009. "I am in shock," she said.
Vallier's father-in-law Tith Chhuon, 69, said he believed the Frenchman and the children were murdered. "He would not commit suicide. I know his heart," he said.
Vallier, who according to his relatives worked as a tour guide, is thought to have moved from France to Cambodia around 12 years ago, arriving in Kampong Speu in 2007.
