Extradition scheduled for the main suspect in the murder of Philippine, found in the Bois de Boulogne

The main suspect in the murder of 19-year-old student Philippine is due to be extradited from Switzerland to France on Wednesday November 6, according to sources close to the investigation. The 22-year-old Taha O., a Moroccan national, was arrested on September 24 at Geneva’s main railway station, four days after Philippine’s body was found buried in the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris.

France officially requested his extradition on October 9. Initially, the suspect refused this procedure, but a new meeting with his lawyer led him to accept extradition under a simplified procedure. His lawyer, Florence Yersin, explained that this decision was intended to speed up the judicial process in France, which could otherwise take several months.

The facts and the suspect’s profile

Philippine, a student at Paris-Dauphine University, had disappeared a few days before being found lifeless on September 21. The French justice system has opened a judicial investigation into the rape and homicide. This is not Taha O.’s first conviction: in 2021, he was found guilty of rape and released in June 2024 after serving his sentence. On his release, he was placed in an administrative detention center in Metz, then placed under house arrest in a hotel in the Yonne region, where he had never shown up.

Because of this absence, he was under an obligation to leave the country, and had been registered in the wanted persons file on September 19, the day before Philippine’s murder. This series of events prompted strong reactions and questions about the measures taken against him, particularly among certain political groups.

The Philippine affair continues to cause a stir in France, where the extradition procedure marks a key stage in enabling the judicial authorities to shed full light on this tragedy.