An octogenarian charged with the murder of a carer in the North

An 80-year-old man has been charged with murder after fatally hitting a 42-year-old carer last week near Cambrai (Nord), the Douai prosecutor's office learned on Monday.

The octogenarian, who was remanded in custody, is also being prosecuted for attempted murder, having also injured another 55-year-old carer who was on site with his colleague at the time of the incident.

The tragedy occurred around midnight on the night of Wednesday to Thursday in Bévillers, a village near Cambrai where the octogenarian lived with his disabled son, who was regularly looked after by carers at home.

The suspect initially fled in his car, taking his son with him.

Both were found Thursday morning in Douai and the father was then arrested without difficulty, according to a source close to the investigation interviewed by AFP.

"The father had lost guardianship of his son" and thus lost control of "a large sum" of money linked to his disability.

The "irascible" man's relationship with the carers had deteriorated considerably since then, according to the same source.

As the victims were carrying out a public service mission, this aggravating circumstance was taken into account in the classification of the facts, the Douai public prosecutor's office stressed.