INTL - Alessia & Livia Schepp (twins), 6, 30 Jan 2011 - Italy, Switzerland and France

[Waddles]

Interesting about the sighting in Italy. I had not heard this. Press here saying two reliable witnesses saw the father disembarking the ferry.

Please call on me if anyone would like translations- I'm fully bilingual

 

[Waddles]

Studying poisoning idea based on internet research

http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-dive...poisonnement-a-l-etude-08-02-2011-1305937.php

This article also states that what is thought to be 2 reliable witnesses saw the girls disembark, thus they are no longer thinking they were thrown overboard

Après l'arrivée du ferry, on perd la trace des fillettes. RTL révèle toutefois que les enquêteurs disposent désormais de deux témoignages pris très au sérieux, de personnes qui auraient vu le père et les fillettes à la descente du ferry. Ce qui éloigne un peu, sous réserve de recoupement de ces témoignages, le spectre de l'hypothèse terrible envisagée depuis mardi, que le père ait pu se débarrasser des fillettes pendant la traversée

 

[Waddles]

articles are also saying the the fact that the estranged husband mailed (from Italy) the cash he withdrew in Marseille to his wife has dampened the hopes that the money was to be used for someone to care for the children

http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/...-des-jumelles-l-inquietude-grandit-72082.html

 

[Waddles]

http://genevalunch.com/blog/2011/02...o-confirmed-sightings-of-twins-after-corsica/

Reports that the girls were later sighted in Italy have not been confirmed, however, they insist, referring in particular to the owner of a bar in Italy who has come forward as a witness. Interviews with witnesses are taped and reviewed by police involved in the investigation. The police have received a large number of calls from potential witnesses, they say, all of which are being followed up.
Two more envelopes containing money, mailed by the girls’ father to his wife, have been found in mailboxes near the Cerignola train station, one containing €950 and the other €550.

 

[Waddles]

Thank you for this VIDEO clip Belimon; it is not the same one I posted of the mother's appeal in Italian.
There have been new developments since yesterday. LE is no longer conducting searches in Switzerland since it has now been confirmed the girls did in fact were in France.

There is a new unconfirmed sighting of the girls and father in a bar in same area where the father threw himself under the train.
The lady says he asked to use the washroom for one of his daughters. He had an 'accent' and didn't use the Italian word for bathroom (bagno), instead he said "toilet".
While waiting for the one girl to come out of the washroom, the lady offered a glass of water to her sister. She looked at her father for approval. She had the glass of water.
Then the father went to the door and he told one of the girls to "hurry up, that they were late, and didn't want to miss the train". The lady thought she heard him calling the little girl "Lia", but it could have been "Livia".

If this sighting is confirmed, then this would mean the girls were in Italy as well. Forgot to mention that LE has video tape and is looking at it, but so far they havent' been able to "see" the girls in the videotapes

So far it is not known how he made it to Italy. He was seen in Napoli (Naples) and also in one article I read he was seen in Bari (which is on the Adriatic Sea coast).

I guess he could have taken a ferry from Corsica to Napoli, or perhaps went down to the Italian Island of Sardegna?
I imagine LE wants to find this out, and rule out the possibility he could have gone back to France (from Corsica), and driven around the French coast to Italy.

There are 3 days that are unaccounted for, so that could be possible, I guess.

Do we know where in Italy this sighting was and the day and time?

 

[Waddles]

OK found it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12404259

Police in southern Italy have been interviewing a cafe owner who reported seeing a man and his daughters who fit the description of Alessia and Livia sometime last week.
The cafe is the outskirts of Cerignola, the town where Schepp was found dead.
Oriana Scelsi, owner of the Fiore cafe, told the Associated Press news agency she had seen a man who fitted Schepp's description with two girls, some time last week.
She said she was sure that they were the girls and that their father had come into the bar last week asking for a bathroom for one of them.
"They stopped at the door, the father asked for a toilet because they were running late," Ms Scelsi said.
"He said, 'Come on, come on Lia, or else we'll be late for the train'."
The cafe-owner said she had she heard "Lia" but that she might have misheard the man saying "Livia".
She said the man had a strange accent and had asked for a "toilet", rather than a "bagno" (Italian for bathroom).
She added that the girls appeared older than their newspaper photos but that she was certain it was the twins.

 

[Hazel]

Glad you found an article to support my post/translation Waddies

I so hope that sighting can be confirmed, and that he was either waiting for someone he knew to arrive and pick up and take care of the girls, or he was looking for a nice place to leave them, maybe a convent or with peasants who don't have a TV (though I don't think there is such a place in Italy). That area is known for its olives.
I just don't want to think that he was able to do any harm to them

Here is a news article in English regarding that unconfirmed sighting in Italy.

http://www.1310news.com/news/world/article/181098--french-prosecutor-missing-swiss-twin-girls-took-ferry-to-corsica-before-father-found-dead

In first VIDEO, there is the Lady, owner of the coffee shop/bar in Cerignola, been interviewed, relating the unconfirmed sighting.

http://info.rsi.ch/home/channels/informazione/info_on_line/2011/02/09-La-madre-delle-gemelle-esortaLa-

 

[fhc]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12426659?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

The father of two missing Swiss twin girls trawled websites on suicide, guns and poison before killing himself, police say.

Police also said that Matthias Schepp, who was last seen with the twins on a ferry to the island of Corsica, made the trip back to mainland France alone.

 

[Hazel]

Sad news :cry:

Went to check Italian Rai 24 News, and found

"Le bambine riposano in pace, non hanno sofferto". Le frasi sono contenute in una delle due lettere che Matthias Schepp, il padre delle gemelline Alessia e Livia, ha scritto e inviato alla moglie Irina prima di suicidarsi.

"The girls rest in peace, they didn't suffer" these phrases are contained in one of the two letters that MS, the father of twins Alessia and Livia, wrote and sent to his wife Irina, before his suicide


http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=150000

 

[belimom]

Sad news :cry:

Went to check Italian Rai 24 News, and found



"The girls rest in peace, they didn't suffer" this phrases are contained in one of the two letters that MS, the father of twins Alessia and Livia, wrote and sent to his wife Irina, before his suicide


http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=150000

Oh how tragic...

Thanks for posting.

 

[belimom]

......
http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=150000

From that article, I also found this (keep in mind this is google translation and the words may be a bit out of order) (rbm):

After some weeks spent searching on the internet the way to the island (the place that had once been a joy for the family Schepp)

Upon his arrival at Toulon was one of the letters sent to Lausanne.

Matthias Schepp and then returned to France. Only. (Alone?) Here, take the machine and the electronic eye of the photographer at the barrier Ventimiglia. E 'Feb. 2. (sounds like he was caught on camera at sometime, alone?) In all probability 'have time to send a packet to Lausanne, 'post 'just a courier on February 2 in a tiny village near Marseille. In that parcel was perhaps the recorder from the Swiss engineer who never separated, the police tried desperately to Cerignola, where Schepp and is' committed suicide after sending another letter home.

 

[belimom]

From the above translated article, it appears that Corsica was a favorite family vacation spot. I think they are there. From the letter - not suffering, etc - it sounds as if he did care about/love them even though he was very troubled, obviously. I can see him wanting to leave them in a happy place, and in his poor mental state that may have given him some peace of mind that he was leaving them there and made it seem less of an evil act, kwim?

I'm betting they are on that island. But if he went through the trouble of writing the notes to the mom that seem to try to comfort her in some odd way (telling her they're no longer living but they didn't suffer - what a terrible letter to get!), then why not just say where they are?

That's what is puzzling me. Unless this man had a huge vendetta against the mom, then why not just make it easier to find these girls, if he did harm them? He's gone, so there's no advantage for him in hiding the bodies (if that's what happened) such as avoiding getting caught, going to prison, etc. In fact, he's already admitting it in the letter. If he had a huge vendetta, then why write the letter...? Unless the letter basically confirms her worst fears - that they are dead - and that in and of itself is torturous.

I hope this makes sense... And I do hope this poor mother soon has closure and doesn't go on wondering what happened and if her daughters are out there somewhere alive... It's just so sad and tragic.

 

[beandawgs]

I hate to say it but I wonder if he wrote her that letter to torture the mother, by not saying where the children are. I"m not understanding why the mother would still think they are alive after reading that letter unless she thinks he could be lying to torture her?

 

[truthsleuth]

Matthias Schepp said what he meant; he's not telling his wife that the girls are dead in order to torture her. He said the girls "rest in peace; they didn't suffer." Therefore, they are no longer living. THAT is the worst torture Irina could ever face, that her girls are deceased and she will never see them again.

In my heart of hearts I believe the girls will be found somewhere on the island of Corsica, deceased but left in a location that the family had visited several times in the past under happy circumstances. Was this planned? All of it was planned, from start to finish, by Matthias, I am quite certain.

I wish it were true that the girls were still alive, but the fact is Matthias killed himself, he killed his daughters, and he left terrible anguish and lifelong suffering for his wife. What a cruel act committed by a troubled man ...

 

[beandawgs]

Matthias' obit

http://www.hommages.ch/Defunt/58836/Schepp_Lucidi_Matthias

 

[beandawgs]

I fear that "special place" in Corsica is the sea. I know the girls are dead but I hope they find their bodies to give the mother some closure and a chance to bury them.

 

[MicciStella]

Matthias Schepp said what he meant; he's not telling his wife that the girls are dead in order to torture her. He said the girls "rest in peace; they didn't suffer." Therefore, they are no longer living. THAT is the worst torture Irina could ever face, that her girls are deceased and she will never see them again.

In my heart of hearts I believe the girls will be found somewhere on the island of Corsica, deceased but left in a location that the family had visited several times in the past under happy circumstances. Was this planned? All of it was planned, from start to finish, by Matthias, I am quite certain.

I wish it were true that the girls were still alive, but the fact is Matthias killed himself, he killed his daughters, and he left terrible anguish and lifelong suffering for his wife. What a cruel act committed by a troubled man ...

I know it sounds irrational, but I still hope.... because I don't find any reason why he should hide the little ones... wouldn't they deserve a proper place to rest in peace? it just doesn't make sense..... but I am aware it is probably hope against hope.....

 

[swanny]

Terrible news. The source for this info about these letters is a "confidential source", rather than an official statement by the authorities, and we know nothing about this source's reliability. Nevertheless I fear that this information is correct and will be confirmed by the authorities later today.

It looks like he traversed the island of Corsica, arriving in the south (Propriano) and leaving in the north (Bastia). It is still unclear if he was alone or not when he disembarked in Corsica but the authorities are certain that he was with the twins when he boarded the ferry to Corsica, and was alone when he took the ferry to leave the island.

I am surprised that the authorities have not made a public announcement, requesting everyone on the ferry crossing to look carefully at any photos or video recordings that they made.

Why Corsica? I can only imagine, based on my own personal experience of this magnificent island, that he went there because it was the most beautiful place the family had ever spent their holidays.

I have a feeling that the authorities did not want the family's connections to the island to be made public. A few days ago the mother said that the father had been to north Corsica several times on business trips, and I had found that strange, because there is nothing there! Why would a Philip Morris engineer make business trips to Corsica? Now the mother is talking openly about it having been a favorite holiday destination.

 

[Waddles]

I understand it would seem surprising but my Paris based students from major companies have mentioned heading over to Corsica on business a number of times and also it's a frequent location for business seminars, conferences etc

Yes this is very sad news

 

[MsFacetious]

I hope, that this is true. I hope that he simply gave them medication and let them fall asleep. It would be a lot easier to handle it that way... and I think it would be some comfort for their Mom too. Knowing her children did not suffer. Whatever he did after that... I hope they were not put into the water alive, or suffocated or anything like that.

I hope that they just went to sleep, with a loving Daddy after a fun trip. Having no idea that they were not going to wake up.

Sad news :cry:

Went to check Italian Rai 24 News, and found


"The girls rest in peace, they didn't suffer" these phrases are contained in one of the two letters that MS, the father of twins Alessia and Livia, wrote and sent to his wife Irina, before his suicide.[/I]


http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=150000