Two Teenagers Arrested in France After 11-Year-Old Boy Is Strangled to Death in Fishing Dispute

French prosecutors said two teenagers suspected of killing an 11-year-old boy in Rennes by strangulation told investigators they wanted to “take revenge” and recover fishing equipment worth only a few dozen euros. The suspects, a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, remain in custody and are due to appear before a judicial court on Wednesday morning, where possible charges of murder of a minor are being considered. Prosecutor Frédéric Teillet said the qualification remains under review at this stage.

The victim, identified as Théo, was found dead on Sunday around 5 p.m. in a wooded area along the Vilaine River, near the center of Rennes in western France. An autopsy confirmed that the child died from strangulation. According to the prosecutor, a nearby couple alerted police after hearing a child screaming. When officers arrived, they found the boy lying motionless, with a bath towel tightly wrapped around his neck.

Investigators believe Théo had gone to the riverbank earlier in the day to fish with the two teenagers now under suspicion. Police said the pair were later seen leaving the scene running, and none of the fishing gear Théo had taken with him was found there. The investigation led to the boy’s arrest on Monday morning. The girl later turned herself in at a police station and was placed in custody on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said the teenagers’ accounts are not fully consistent, but both admit they attacked Théo, including strangling him, before fleeing with his fishing equipment and personal belongings. Those items were later recovered during searches at their respective homes. The suspects said they acted because they wanted revenge and to reclaim fishing lures they claimed Théo had taken from them, with the items reportedly worth only a small amount. Théo had told his parents that the older boy had given him the lures.

Frédéric Teillet said the two suspects had no prior criminal convictions. He also said they were friends and attended the same school. The case has shocked the Rennes area, where investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death and the relationship between the three children.