British man Robert Plant charged with French jogger's murder
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Related articles
A British man has been charged with the murder of a woman who was killed while out jogging in France.
Robert Plant, 32, was being held in Montpellier this evening after the badly beaten body of Jouda Zammit was found in brambles earlier this week, local police said.
He is expected to be imprisoned this afternoon after police passed the case to an examining judge ahead of a trial.
Gilles Soulie, head of Montpellier's judicial police service, said: "He has been questioned by police over the murder.
"The police phase of this case is now over and it has been handed to an examining judge to consider.
"He is in front of the examining judge now and the result of that hearing is that he will almost certainly be imprisoned."
Mr Soulie said a trial would be some months away.
Plant, 32, is understood to come from Chatham in Kent.
He is believed to have been staying in Nimes, in south-west France, with his mother, who lives in the region.
Ms Zammit, a mother of three, was found lying near a cemetery, a few hundred metres from the local police academy and detention centre in Nimes last Thursday afternoon.
The 33-year-old, who was of Tunisian origin, appeared to have been badly beaten, with blows to her face and neck.
Traces of blood were found on two stones and a blade which were discovered close to her body, according to regional newspaper La Depeche.
Ms Zammit was said to go jogging regularly in the quiet Courbessac area where she lived, often going out for around 20 minutes before collecting her children from school.
She was reported missing by her partner after he was contacted by the children's school when she failed to pick them up last Thursday.
Police mounted a search and her body was discovered shortly after 10pm.
A post-mortem examination revealed that she had suffered knife wounds in the attack.
Nimes prosecutor Laure Beccuau told La Depeche: "A knife was seized, among other things."
It will now be down to the examining judge to mount a case against Plant ahead of a trial.
PA
-
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?
-
You thought Ryanair's attendants had it bad? Wait 'til you hear about their pilots
-
World news in pictures
-
'Swivel-gate': David Cameron at war with press over 'swivel-eyed loons' slur
-
Revealed: Eerie new images show forgotten French apartment that was abandoned at the outbreak of World War II and left untouched for 70 years
- 1 Heading for America? Prepare for the longest US immigration queues ever
- 2 Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?
- 3 You thought Ryanair's attendants had it bad? Wait 'til you hear about their pilots
- 4 'Swivel-gate': David Cameron at war with press over 'swivel-eyed loons' slur
- 5 It’s official: thanks to Stephen Hawking's Israel boycott, anti-Semitism is no more
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
iJobs General
Teaching Programme Officer with Qualified Teacher Status
£28000 - £31500 per annum + benefits: Randstad Education Newcastle: Permanent ...
SAP FI-CA Consultant - up to £58k
£50000 - £58000 per annum + Benefits and Bonus: Progressive Recruitment: SAP F...
PHP/ Drupal Developer - £35k - WC
£30000 - £40000 per annum + BENS: Progressive Recruitment: Drupal Developer A ...
C# WEB DEVELOPER
£45000 - £50000 per annum + bens: Progressive Recruitment: C# WEB DEVELOPER Le...
Day In a Page
The price of pacifism
Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond
Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?
Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes
Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save






