PARIS (Reuters) -Charles Sobhraj, a convicted killer who police believe murdered more than 20 western backpackers on the “hippie trail” through Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, arrived in France on Saturday after nearly two decades behind bars in Nepal, BFM TV reported.
Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the release of Sobhraj, known as the “bikini killer” in Thailand, and ‘The Serpent” for his evasion of police, earlier this week on health grounds.
An attorney representing Sobhraj in France didn’t immediately respond to a request of comment.
He was held in high-security Nepali prison since 2003 when he was charged with murdering Connie Jo Bronzich (American backpacker) in 1975. He was later found guilty of killing Bronzich’s Canadian friend, Laurent Carriere, and had served 19 years out of a 20-year sentence.
Sobhraj, on his flight out of Nepal, told the French news agency AFP he wasn’t guilty in the murders Bronzich & Carriere. He also said that the case against him was based upon fake documents.
“I have a lot to do. I have to sue a lot of people,” AFP quoted Sobhraj as saying.
Associates have described Sobhraj (78) as a con artist and seducer, a criminal, a robber, and a murderer.
In 2021, the BBC and Netflix produced a drama series based on the story of Sobhraj’s alleged killings.
(Reporting done by Richard Lough and Antony Paone; Editing done by William Mallard
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