Two suspects, including the ex-husband of one victim, have been arrested in Luxembourg over the murder of three French nationals in South Africa.

The bodies of three adults who had suffered multiple violent blows with a blunt weapon were discovered on 11 July at two separate locations near Pretoria, said Gauthier Poupeau, the public prosecutor in Coutances, northwest France.

The victims were a couple from near Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, and the woman’s mother. They had arrived in South Africa the previous day with the woman’s daughter, a minor.

South African authorities arrested a 44-year-old man identified as the girl’s father and the ex-husband of one of the victims. He had arrived in South Africa shortly before the others.

He however returned to Europe with the girl and another family member the day after the bodies were discovered.

Police in France traced the two suspects to Luxembourg. The girl’s father and his alleged accomplice (71), were detained on 22 July by Luxembourg police on a European arrest warrant.

The girl was taken into protective custody and repatriated to France the same day.

The two suspects are currently in custody in Luxembourg and are expected to be handed over to French authorities shortly. They will face charges of murder, kidnapping, unlawful detention of a minor and criminal conspiracy.

Other individuals close to the main suspect have been taken into police custody in France and charged with criminal conspiracy and the abduction of a minor as part of an organised criminal group.

ALSO READ: Alleged UK fugitive accused of triple murder appears in Johannesburg court