Summary The accused suspected Dominique Leboucher of having an affair with his wife.
PARIS (AFP) - A jealous husband castrated and murdered the mayor of a hamlet in northern France on Friday before killing himself, sparking shock and disbelief among residents.
Mayor Dominique Leboucher, 55, was brutally attacked by a man "who suspected him of having an affair with his wife," a police source said, adding that the unnamed attacker then committed suicide.
The crime sparked horror in the tiny village of Bretteville-le-Rabet in Calvados in northern France.
"I do not believe this thing about infidelity at all," said Yannick Guesnon, one of the mayor s deputies, adding that the attack appeared to be "an act of madness."
Albert Gibot, a pensioner in the village of 250 souls, said the attacker had "blown a fuse as his partner used to attend meetings of the local council in the evenings."
The mayor, who worked in insurance sales, first became a councillor in 2001 before taking up the post of deputy mayor in 2008. He was elected mayor in March s municipal elections.
