Don't look under the patio, alleged murderer's letter says

In a letter to relatives, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, who is wanted by police in connection with the murder of his wife and four children, told his family not to bother dealing with the rubble under the patio, where the bodies of his wife and children were buried.    

Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Nine members of his family received the letter, but Stéphane Goldenstein, the lawyer who represents the suspect's mother and sister, has questioned its authenticity.

The letter was unsigned, and contained none of the spelling mistakes Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès habitually made.

In the note, the author announces the family's imminent departure for a secret destination in the United States, explaining that his life was in danger because of his involvement with US anti-drug agencies.

He told his family that there had been rubble under the patio when he first moved to the house he was now leaving in France.

He also said that because he had found the C5 car he owned impossible to sell, he had given it to his son's friend. The same car was found by investigators in the south of France, where Dupont de Ligonnès was last traced.

In the letter, the murder suspect declares that the family will be uncontactable once in the United States, where they would all be given new identities.

And his children would not be allowed to use Facebook or other social networking sites.

"The official version is that we have been transferred because of my job, to Australia," the letter continues. And he asks that this false information be circulated on Facebook and elsewhere, in order to mislead people.

Meanwhile, Goldenstein says he is astonished that police appear not to be interested in an email sent to his client, the suspects sister, on 8 April.

Although the contents of the email reveal little, the timing is important, because it was sent  a few days after police think the family was murdered.