The remains of a French woman, dressed in a manner reminiscent of a “vampire,” were discovered in an abandoned Italian church, her body bearing the marks of stab and gunshot wounds and drained of blood. The victim, identified as 22-year-old Auriane Nathalie Laisne from Saint-Priest, near Lyon, was found by a hiker in a fetal position, her sweatshirt soaked in blood from multiple wounds. This gruesome discovery was made days after her boyfriend, Teima Sohaib, was suspected of murdering her in the deserted church located in Aosta Valley, as reported by local officials.
Laisne had previously filed a domestic violence case against Sohaib, a 21-year-old Egyptian Italian residing in Grenoble, France. This legal action had resulted in a restraining order that prohibited Sohaib from approaching Laisne. Authorities are now considering the possibility that Laisne’s death might be linked to a trending ghost-hunting challenge on TikTok, popular in France.
The circumstances surrounding Laisne’s death have led officials to label it as a “classic femicide,” as reported by a local news outlet during a press conference. A murder investigation has been initiated in Grenoble. Aosta prosecutor Luca Ceccanti described the case as a “classic femicide” driven by possessiveness and control over the victim. The suspect arrested in Lyon is strongly believed to have committed premeditated murder, among other serious offenses.
An eyewitness account described the couple as being dressed like “vampires,” with Laisne appearing “emaciated” and resembling a “corpse” prior to her death. The witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told local media that the pair were dressed like Goths, giving off an aura of death worship. The witness expressed regret over not acting on their initial concern for Laisne’s well-being.
Authorities are also investigating whether Laisne’s death was a “consented murder” or a sacrifice of some sort, given the state in which her body was found. It is believed that she was stabbed with a camping knife, bled to death, and then shot twice in the neck and once in the abdomen post-mortem. This information was shared by medical examiner Roberto Testi and local police.
Laisne’s body was discovered near a bag of pink marshmallows and other grocery items. Investigators also noted that her blood had been meticulously cleaned from the crime scene, and there were no signs of struggle. Sohaib was arrested in Lyon a few days after Laisne’s body was found. The couple was believed to be touring Europe and had inquired about abandoned villages where they could camp. The church where Laisne’s body was found is not a popular tourist spot and is relatively unknown even to locals.