It all started on January 30, 2025, when a 72-year-old woman became the victim of a theft near a Sberbank ATM in the 10th arrondissement of Marseille. The attacker lunges at the seventy-year-old woman to snatch the hundred euros she is still holding, but he pushes her and she falls heavily to the ground. The man fled, leaving the victim injured with a fractured femur, requiring him to undergo almost 60 days of ITT.
The investigation adds to the list of pending kidnappings due to the lack of identifying elements of the perpetrator, in particular, images from CCTV cameras that could help clarify the report. But more than a year after the events, on March 23, 2026, late in the morning, another septuagenarian was attacked in similar circumstances in the 5th arrondissement of Marseille, still in front of the Caisse d’Epargne ATM. The man distracts the 70-year-old victim in front of the machine and ends up taking 300 euros, but this time without violence. While the police were still trying to identify the suspect, on March 29, in the same conditions and in the same place, still late in the morning, another elderly woman, 77 years old, was approached. Less than a week after the second theft, the first reconciliation was carried out, and this time the damage amounted to about 800 euros. But the name of the person responsible remains unknown.
Same operating procedure for five cases
On 14 May and again on 7 June, two 76-year-old women were robbed again, still in front of the Caisse d’Epargne ATMs, in the 16th arrondissement, where the damage exceeded €850, and in the 12th arrondissement, where a further 800 € were stolen with violence against a septuagenarian.
Meanwhile, investigations scattered across the police stations of the three departments of Marseille were gathered at the bishop’s palace, in the property crimes brigade of the territorial crime department (DCT). After mixing up the complaints, police determined that the five cases were likely the work of the same person. Cross-checking the elements, of which there are now quite a few, allows the identification of a suspect already known to the police for aggravated theft and fraud. It was established that he was arrested on June 22. During a search of his home, clothing identical to that worn by the assailant during some of the thefts was found and seized. Placed in police custody, the 38-year-old eventually admitted all charges against him.
At the end of the hearing, the man appeared in court and was remanded in custody until his trial, which will take place in the coming weeks.