German 'Masked Man' Convicted in French Cold Case Killing

A French court has handed down a life sentence to a German serial killer known as the "masked man." The 55-year-old was found guilty of murdering a 10-year-old boy, abducted in April 2004 from a school holiday camp in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, western France. The child's body was discovered naked in a pond approximately 30 kilometers away weeks after his disappearance.

Prosecutors argued the murder bore the defendant's "signature," though he maintained his innocence throughout the trial. His defense cited a lack of direct evidence placing him in France at the time. This conviction adds to his existing life sentence in Germany, where he was found guilty of sexually abusing dozens of boys and murdering three other children between 1992 and 2001.

French investigators became suspicious of Martin N in 2008 due to similarities with his German crimes. While no DNA evidence linked him directly, a witness reported seeing a German car near the discovery site, and a former inmate claimed the defendant confessed to the French killing. He was identified in 2011 with the help of a former victim and arrested, later confessing to most of his offenses in Germany.