A man who has admitted "unintentionally" killing a French schoolgirl has made a confession linking him to a second murder.

Former soldier Nordahl Lelandais is charged with murdering Maelys de Araujo, a nine-year-old who vanished from a wedding party last summer - sparking a huge search.

He is also suspected of killing Corporal Arthur Noyer in April 2017, who was last seen hitchhiking after leaving a nightclub in the early hours of the morning to return to his barracks.

Lelandais has reportedly admitted that he gave the 24-year-old soldier a lift on the night he disappeared - and telephone records show both men were in the same area at the time.

The suspect claims he dropped the soldier off a few miles along the road in the early hours of 12 April.


Parts of Mr Noyer's skull were found in Montmelian, near Chambery, five months after he vanished.

The 34-year-old suspect's car was spotted on CCTV in the area at the time - and investigators found Lelandais had researched "decomposition of a human body" on the internet after Mr Noyer's disappearance.

French media is reporting that Lelandais is now being linked to other missing persons cases - including Jean-Christophe Morin and Ahmed Hamadou, who both vanished from the same festival one year apart.

Links have also been established between Lelandais and the disappearances of a 29-year-old woman in 2011, as well as a man in his 40s in 2016.

Image: Hundreds of volunteers turned out to search for nine-year-old Maelys

France has been gripped by the case of Maelys de Araujo.

Last month, Lelandais - who was a guest at the wedding where she was last seen alive - told investigators he had accidentally killed Maelys after police found a trace of her blood in his car.

He said he hid the body and then returned to the party before eventually dumping the body in a ravine.

Last month, prosecutors said they have recovered "nearly all of her remains, along with clothes and a shoe" after being led to the site by Lelandais.

After Maely's remains were found, her mother described Lelandais as a "monster" on Facebook.

Jennifer Cleyet-Marrel wrote: "Maelys will haunt you night and day in prison until you die and go to hell."