A New York City American man with dual citizenship was arrested after his French wife was found stabbed, dismembered and buried in a drainage ditch, police in France say.
Billy Kruger, who lived with his wife Laure Bardina-Kruger in Indonesia, was arrested Friday while trying to board a flight in Toulouse, hours after his father-in-law reported the disappearance of his daughter.
Bardina-Kruger was found partially buried in a storm drain in the local town of Peyriac-de-Mer outside her vacation home in southern France, according to the France-Presse agency.
Kruger told police that he killed his wife in self-defense, prosecutor Marie-Agnes Jolie told AFP. The couple was spotted dining at a romantic restaurant in Peyriac-de-Mer on Thursday night, according to press reports.
The couple had planned to return to Jakarta and Bardina-Kruger’s father raised the alarm after their daughter missed a farewell dinner before leaving. Kruger apparently made a weak excuse as to why she wasn’t there.
“We still don’t know what happened, but Lauren never received any alarm signals about the violent acts against her by her husband,” Bardina-Kruger’s brother Pierre Bardina posted on Facebook. “You always think that this can only happen to other people, but violence against women can happen suddenly.”
White flowers were placed at a makeshift monument over the drainage ditch where her body was discovered.
Kruger will be tried in a French court this week.
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