Interpol identifies Algerian woman found in barrel 21 years ago, husband confesses to murder

Her case was one of 47 cold cases selected for the campaign, which aims to identify women murdered or who died under suspicious circumstances. Hakima's body, bearing stab wounds, was found by a forest road in Saint-Quirin, near Sarrebourg. Her disappearance was never reported, and she is believed to have died between September and October 2004.

The barrel containing her body was seen floating in the Sarre Rouge river in mid-October 2004. After the case was reopened through the "Identify Me" operation and familial DNA analysis, Hakima's identity was confirmed. Her husband, Saïd L., was subsequently arrested as a suspect.

Initially released under judicial supervision in September 2025 due to age and health, Saïd L., now 78, confessed on June 9, 2026, to the murder of Hakima Boukerouis and also his son, born in 1970. He had previously claimed to have used a third party to harm Hakima. A niece of the suspect has also been charged with complicity in the murder and placed under judicial supervision.