The judge in charge of France's investigation into the suspected murder of missing English expat Patricia Wilson on Tuesday joined a police search of countryside close to her home.
The presence of examining magistrate Cecile Youl-Pailhes and deputy prosecutor Patrick Desjardins alongside a group of 20 gendarmes raised hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the search for Wilson, 58.
The area being searched was around the village of Sanvensa, around 15 kilometres (10 miles) from Wilson's home in Vabre-Tizac in the Aveyron region near the southern city of Toulouse.
"Elements in the investigation have led us to search in this area," Desjardins told AFP, without giving further details.
Jean-Louis Cayrou, Wilson's former gardener, has been charged with her murder. He will learn Thursday whether a request for his conditional release from custody has been approved.
Lawyers for the 50-year-old on Tuesday asked the Court of Appeal in Montpellier to release him on condition that he stay at his home, a caravan, and be fitted with an electronic tag.
Prosecutor Alain Gugliemi opposed the request, arguing that the accused had to remain in custody to "avoid the disappearance of evidence," and because of the risk that he might flee.
"There is insufficient certainty that he will reappear," Gugliemi told a hearing at the appeal court.
Cayrou was charged on August 25 with the murder of Wilson, who has not been seen since being dropped off at her home in the village of Vabre-Tizac in the Aveyron region on August 17.
Police believe Cayrou killed the Englishwoman after she decided to end a brief relationship with him, and that he has disposed of the body. He denies the charge and has refused to testify.
Tuesday's court session heard that traces of Wilson's DNA had been identified on several blood-stained items found in Cayrou's car, including a stretcher and a head lamp.
The finds have strengthened the prosecution's conviction that he dragged her body from her house following a struggle which left large deposits of blood on the floor and outside the house.
The prosecution has also gathered testimony from friends of Wilson who say she had reported Cayrou acting violently towards her and attempting to suffocate her.
Gugliemi told the court the attempted suffocation took place on the night of July 28 and was an attempt by Cayrou to demonstrate that his former lover needed his protection.
The prosecutor also said Wilson had been bombarded with phone calls from the gardener during a week she spent in England just before her disappearance.
"That was a clear sign of his refusal to give up on the relationship," Gugliemi said.
Wilson had been living in Vabre-Tizac, an isolated village of 441 inhabitants, for several years and began the relationship with the gardener after separating from her English partner last year, according to neighbours.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/briton-murder-suspect-seeks-release-custody-094046810.html
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