French couple on trial over killing of pensioner in 'viager' property-purchase scheme
A French couple have gone on trial killing a pensioner from whom they had bought property under the scheme known as 'viager' - which allows the vendor to stay in the property until they die.
Abderrahim and Meriam Ghelouci are accused of killing the 82-year-old man by strangling him with a scarf, and then burying him in a field in Moselle, eastern France.
They had recently bought his apartment under the scheme known as viager - in which people buy property for a knock-down price, but agree that the seller can stay there until they die.
It's usually used by elderly people and gives the seller some ready cash while allowing them to stay in their own home. For the buyer it can be a cheap way to buy property - but buyers can face a long wait to move in if the seller lives for longer than they anticipated.
There have even been cases of the buyer dying before the seller - including the case of the unlucky man who bought en viager the home of Jeanne Calment - who would live to the age of 122 and become France's oldest woman.
READ ALSO How the French property purchase known as 'viager' works
The court in Moselle heard that Michael Voltz - an elderly man without close relatives - agreed to sell his apartment in the small town of L'Hôpital to the Gheloucis under this scheme.
It is alleged that they strangled him with a scarf then loaded his body into a van and buried in a pit in a field outside the town.
They had planned to move in and impersonate him, but Voltz's neighbours had reported him missing, sparking a police investigation.
The couple deny the charges and the trial continues.
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Abderrahim and Meriam Ghelouci are accused of killing the 82-year-old man by strangling him with a scarf, and then burying him in a field in Moselle, eastern France.
They had recently bought his apartment under the scheme known as viager - in which people buy property for a knock-down price, but agree that the seller can stay there until they die.
It's usually used by elderly people and gives the seller some ready cash while allowing them to stay in their own home. For the buyer it can be a cheap way to buy property - but buyers can face a long wait to move in if the seller lives for longer than they anticipated.
There have even been cases of the buyer dying before the seller - including the case of the unlucky man who bought en viager the home of Jeanne Calment - who would live to the age of 122 and become France's oldest woman.
READ ALSO How the French property purchase known as 'viager' works
The court in Moselle heard that Michael Voltz - an elderly man without close relatives - agreed to sell his apartment in the small town of L'Hôpital to the Gheloucis under this scheme.
It is alleged that they strangled him with a scarf then loaded his body into a van and buried in a pit in a field outside the town.
They had planned to move in and impersonate him, but Voltz's neighbours had reported him missing, sparking a police investigation.
The couple deny the charges and the trial continues.
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