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He had also done numerous searches on road deaths with the proviso “sensitive viewers abstain” and one on a recent article in the Nice-Matin newspaper about a motorist who “deliberately mowed into a restaurant terrace.”

Molins confirmed that the murderous act was clearly premeditated, as Bouhlel had visited the Promenade des Anglais in his truck in the two days leading up to the attack, taking photos.

Dubbed a “soldier of Islam” by ISIL, Bouhlel’s cellphone suggests he often used dating sites to pick up male and female lovers. Police have already questioned several of these since the deadly attack, in particular, according to Le Parisien, a 73-year old man, which a source close to the investigation described as “his main lover.”

In Tunisia, Bouhlel’s uncle said his nephew was indoctrinated about two weeks ago by an Algerian member of ISIL in Nice.

Sadok Bouhlel told The Associated Press that given Bouhlel’s family problems — he was estranged from his wife and three children — the Algerian extremist “found in Mohamed an easy prey for recruitment.”

“Mohamed didn’t pray, didn’t go to the mosque and ate pork,” said the uncle, a 69-year-old retired teacher, in the driver’s hometown of Msaken, Tunisia.

Dr. Raj Persaud, a psychiatrist and professor at London’s Gresham College, said Bouhlel’s path toward violent extremism might have been longer than people around him noticed.

“This is someone who was already deeply disturbed and had already been on a journey, and at the end of it, maybe there was what looks like a rapid process of radicalization. But that was just what crystallized his beliefs, a lot of the huge transformation had already occurred in the background,” he said.

Sadok Bouhlel is devastated by his nephew’s act, and doesn’t want him buried in Msaken.

“He made more than 80 families grieve, and stained the reputation of our town and our country,” he said.

With files from The Associated Press