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A 23-year old French man has confessed to murdering a 11-year-old girl because he was "angry" after losing a game of Fortnite, according to reports.
The victim, Louise Lasalle was found on February 8, with stab wounds, in the town of Epinay-sur-Orge, located about 26 kms from Paris, 12 hours after she was reported missing by her parents.
The 23-year-old, identified as Owen L, lost a game of Fortnite and had an argument with another gamer, after which he left his house for a walk.
Louise on February 7 around 1:50 pm was on her way home from school when she was allegedly stopped by Owen, a report by the New York Post said.
“While playing Fortnite, he had an altercation online with another player who insulted him,” prosecutor Grégoire Dulin said, according to the report. “Very angry, he stopped playing and went out to calm down.”
Dulin said Owen planned to "rob or extort money from someone to calm down," but accidentally crossed paths with Louise " whom he did not know."
“He spotted her mobile, which she was carrying on a cord around her neck, and decided to follow her,” Dulin added.
Owen apparently told the victim that he has lost something and lured her into the woods. While threatening her with a knife he told her he is going to search her things. When she started screaming he pushed her to the ground and stabbed her as per the report.
Her phone was found along side the body. There was no evidence of sexual assault. However as per the prosecutor's office male DNA was recovered from her hands.
Owen confessed to his girlfriend that he has "done something serious." In a bid to get rid of the evidence he disposed of the weapon, put bleach on his clothes and threw everything in the garbage. His 24-year-old girlfriend has also been charged with failing to report a crime.
He had tried to lure another girl into the woods but had failed.
He lived with his well-to-do parents but was unemployed and had a police record for petty crimes. His older sister has also reportedly filed a police complaint against him in April 2023 for being violent and aggressive.