Decades-Old Corpse Found During Renovations Of £30 Million Parisian Mansion

Renovation work on a £30 million (€35m) Parisian mansion has been halted after a decades-old decomposing corpse was discovered in the basement.

The vast building - located just minutes from the French prime minister's official residence and backing onto the former home of Yves Saint Laurent - was purchased in January by investment banker Jean-Bernard Lafonta for a whopping €35.1m (£29.9m), which was nearly six times the reserve price.

However, 12 rue Oudinot was in a state of disrepair, with walls crumbling and gardens overgrown, so Lafonta wasted no time in getting the place restored. But renovations slammed to a halt after workers discovered a corpse in the basement.

Daniel Féau

The discovery - which has only recently been made public - was made after workers moved a pile of planks and rubble in one of the complex's cellars.

Police subsequently identified stab wounds and broken bones on the corpse, prompting a murder investigation to be launched, according to French newspaper Le Monde. They also found papers on the body, identifying it as that of Jean-Pierre Renaud, and his death was traced back to around 30 years ago.

A police spokesperson told Le Monde: "He was someone of no fixed abode, with a drink problem.

"We could imagine a fight with someone else living on the margin... But it's unclear whether he died in the mansion or was brought there, and we may never find out who was responsible.

"It's quite possible the murderer is himself now dead."

The grim find prompted shock in the area, particularly among those who had been closely involved with the building for many years.

Sabine Lebreton, the vice-president of a local association dedicated to preserving the mansion, said: "Everyone was devastated to learn it had been there so long, without any of us knowing."

Renaud's children have been informed of the discovery and renovation work is expected to resume after summer.

Topics: World News, crime, France

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

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