Mohamed Faleh

Mohamed Faleh is a French serial killer. He was responsible for at least three murders and one attempted murder between 1995 and 1999.

Nicknamed ‘Bouraba’ by those close to him, the press called him the ‘Axe Killer’ because of the way he killed his victims.

The facts and the investigation On 29 September 1995, Faleh came across 82-year-old Anna Ratti in a bank in Audincourt and saw her withdrawing 15,000 francs. After the elderly woman left, Faleh followed her and entered her home. He took a knife from his pocket and slit the old woman's throat. Faleh then stole a cheque for 15,000 francs from the old woman, intended to pay for the tombstone of the victim's late husband. Faleh hid the body under the victim's car and left the scene, leaving the knife behind. The body was discovered by a child, who accidentally kicked his ball into the garage. A murder investigation was launched, focusing directly on the victim's bank withdrawal. The video surveillance system identified Faleh as Anna Ratti was making her withdrawal. Placed in police custody, Faleh denied any involvement in the murder of the elderly woman and denied having gone to the bank. He was brought before a witness for identification, but the witness refused to recognise Faleh. As there was no other evidence against Faleh, he was released.

On 28 February 1999, Faleh invited Abdelkader Chamrouki, aged 61, to his flat in Sochaux. Having borrowed 6,000 francs from Chamrouki, Faleh pretended to pay back the money and killed Chamrouki in the back with an axe. He then dismembered the victim's body, before scattering it in five bin bags. Faleh then threw the body parts into the garden of a building under construction in the town. He then returned home to clean up any traces of blood that could be traced back to his crime. Chamrouki's son was concerned about his father's disappearance and decided to report it. No investigation is launched, however, as the victim has just disappeared.

On the night of 3 to 4 March, Faleh approached Max, aged 31, and took him to his flat in Sochaux, claiming that he wanted to sell him cannabis. Max accepted the offer for 3,500 francs and decided to follow him. After making sure that Max had the money, Faleh brandished an old telephone directory, pretending to possess the cannabis on behalf of a third party whose telephone number he did not know. Max looks for the telephone number in the phone book, only to be hacked in the back by Faleh. Shocked by the situation, Max asks Faleh the reason for the blow, who tells him to keep quiet. When Faleh strikes him a second time in the neck, Max manages to escape from the flat. He then runs to the café du commerce and denounces Faleh to the manager, who knows him as a former customer who was expelled from the bar. Following his crime, Faleh flees and goes on the run. Transferred to hospital in a serious condition, Max miraculously survives his injuries. When questioned, Max tells of having been attacked by Faleh in the street. The gendarmes doubted this version, as no serious bloodstains had been found on the road. However, when the police searched Faleh's flat, they remained convinced that Max had been attacked by Faleh. The fugitive is now wanted.

Judgement in the Anna Ratti case On 24 November 2004, Faleh went on trial before the Besançon Assize Court for the murder of Ratti.

Judgement in the Mohammed Sellami case On 12 October 2015, Faleh's trial began before the Vesoul Assize Court (Haute-Saône) for the murder of Sellami.

Now aged 71, Faleh appears to be a ‘hardened old man’ and ‘contemptuous’. The accused still denies the charges against him and is once again crying ‘miscarriage of justice’. His lawyers insist that Faleh's DNA was not found at the crime scene. Called to the stand, the victim's son testified to an altercation between Faleh and Sellami shortly before the events, which had resulted in the accused being expelled from the bar because of his behaviour. Called to testify in his turn, the taxi driver repeated his testimony about Faleh, in which Faleh told him that he had won a 500 franc ticket by playing a scratch card in the same bar; this was confirmed as a lie by Faleh. The Court did not believe that Faleh had won a ticket in a bar from which he had been expelled shortly before the events. It therefore requested life imprisonment. For their part, Faleh's lawyers highlighted the grey areas surrounding this 17-year-old murder: the absence of DNA, doubts about Faleh's presence and the fact that the stolen money had never been found.

On 15 October, Faleh was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Life in prison Although released in 2021, Faleh was still in prison at that date. He is now one of the oldest prisoners in France.