Paris Court Imposes Life Sentence to Murderer of Holocaust Survivor Mirelle Knoll

A Paris court sentenced the murderer of Mirelle Knoll to life in prison for the antisemitic murder of the 85 old Holocaust survivor in Paris in 2018.

Two perpetrators stood trial on October 26. Yacine Mihoub, the son of Knoll’s neighbours, was convicted of the murder of the elderly Jewish woman on November 10 and will not be eligible for parole for 22 years. His accomplice, the homeless Alex Carrimbacus, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for theft aggravated by a hate crime.

According to the court’s verdict, the crime committed by the two convicts was antisemitic because they specifically targeted Knoll for being Jewish, believing that robbing and killing her would be profitable. The attack, which began as a robbery, was fuelled by “a broader context of antisemitism” and “prejudices” about the wealth of Jews, which led the perpetrators to believe the victim had “hidden treasures” in her home, reports The Guardian. Knoll’s family deems the verdict to be just.

The Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll’s burnt body was found in her apartment on March 23, 2018. She was stabbed 11 times before her apartment was set on fire. The murder of the elderly lady sparked outrage in the French Jewish community, including a march through Paris with 10,000 participants.