Yassin Salhi: French 'Islamist' accused of beheading boss found hanged in Paris prison cell

Salhi, 35, was awaiting trial and maintained he acted out of a grudge against his former employer

French police escort Yassin Salhi (C), a man suspected of decapitating his boss in an attack on a gas factory, as they leave his flat in Saint-Priest on June 28, 2015 (Getty Images)

A man accused of beheading his boss and displaying his severed head in an Islamist-motivated terror attack has been found dead in his prison cell in France.

Yassin Salhi, 35, was awaiting trial on suspicion of being a militant Islamist after the incident which made headlines around the world in June.

The delivery driver admitted driving his van into a building at a gas plant near the city of Lyon, and the head of Mr Salhi's boss was found shortly afterwards reportedly adorned with Arabic inscriptions.

Authorities were quoted in French media reports as saying Mr Salhi hanged himself with sheets in the cell of the Fleury-Merogis prison where he was being held in solitary confinement.

He had not been considered a suicide risk, the BBC reported. According to reports from the summer, Mr Salhi "confessed" to police of the attack, but said he was motivated by a grudge against his employer - not terrorism.

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