The Antisemitic Murder that Shook France
Dr. Sarah Halimi was beaten and thrown out of a balcony, her killer will not face trial
Dr. Sarah Halimi was 65-years-old, a retired physician and teacher. She was a French Orthodox Jew, with 3 children and many friends. Everyone who knew her says she was a good person.
On the night of April 4th, 2017, Sarah was sleeping alone at her 3rd-floor apartment in the Belleville district of Paris. It is a social housing project, Halimi has been living there for 30 years. She was the only Jewish person to have lived in the building at the time.
On the same April night, Kobili Traoré, a 27-year-old drug dealer who was addicted to cannabis, was watching ‘The Punisher’ on TV. He consumed cannabis, a very large amount, and apparently later had an argument with a family member. He lived in the same building as Halimi, his apartment was on the 2nd floor.
At a certain point during the night, Traoré left his house. He broke into the apartment next door, where the frightened family locked itself in the bedroom and called the police. Traoré then went out to their balcony and started climbing towards the 3rd floor through the fire escape. The police were already at the scene but mistakenly went to the wrong building.
