Ex-police officer arrested in Portugal for alleged murder of mothers of his children

Portuguese authorities have apprehended a former French officer suspected of murdering both his current and former partners after abducting them and their children.

Cedric Prizzon, once a member of Paris's police force and a former youth rugby league player, is also known for his activity in fathers' rights advocacy. He had been embroiled in a fierce, public custody dispute with his ex-partner.

After unlawfully taking their son to Spain for several weeks in 2021, he lost his custody rights and was previously found guilty of harassing his ex-partner.

According to Portuguese police, they found "two bodies buried... in a remote location" on Wednesday night, following the detention of 42-year-old Prizzon near Meda in the northern region, along with his two children, a 12-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter.

Authorities discovered a pump-action shotgun, counterfeit documents and license plates, and roughly $20,000 in cash inside the vehicle, as the National Republican Guard (GNR) stated in a announcement on social media, which included a picture of the confiscated items.

Portuguese authorities indicated that the deceased were the suspect’s "partner and former partner", but clarified that "procedures to confirm the victims' identities and gather evidence are underway.”

On Thursday, the High Council for the Judiciary named the victims as Audry Cavalier and Angela Cadillac, as reported by Reuters.

A court located in Vila Nova de Foz Coa, close to Prizzon’s place of arrest, ordered his custody on Thursday evening after several hours of interrogation.

Charges against him include aggravated murder, desecration of corpses, and kidnapping, according to judicial officials.

The two children will return to France, authorities confirmed.

Prizzon is legally barred from contacting the children "via phone, social media, email, written communications, or third parties," as Reuters noted.

French law enforcement had been pursuing Prizzon following the disappearance of the women from their residences in Aveyron, south-central France, the previous week.

The pursuit for the muscular rugby forward commenced after his former partner went missing on Friday.