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Trial Opens in Nantes for Germany’s ‘Maskenmann’ in 2004 Killing of French Boy

Prosecutors rely on delayed testimony alongside investigative parallels identified by German police.

Overview

  • The Nantes trial, which opened Tuesday, centers on the 2004 abduction of 10-year-old Jonathan whose body was found weeks later in a pond weighed down with a concrete block.
  • Martin N., 55, is already serving a life sentence in Germany for three child murders committed between 1992 and 2001.
  • The case rests on a 2017 fellow-inmate account and a report of a German-plated car near the camp, despite his denial he was in France at the time.
  • German investigators flagged similarities to his known attacks in 2004, yet French police first focused on a local suspect.
  • He was transferred to France in 2021 to face charges, and the proceedings are scheduled to run until June 5.