PARIS, Jan 31 (AFP) - French police said Monday a former mental patient was detained at the weekend on suspicion of carrying out the grisly murder of two nurses in a psychiatric hospital last month.
The 22-year-old man, whose identity was not released, was arrested Saturday in the southwestern town of Pau, where the hospital is located, after opening fire on police.
DNA tests have linked him to the brutal crime which occurred December 18, officers said.
The bodies of the nurses, Chantal Klimaszewski, 48, and Lucette Gariod, 40, were found in a blood-splattered room in the mental institute.
The head of one of the victims had been placed on top of a television set, while the other nurse had her throat slit. An autopsy determined that neither had been sexually assaulted.
Authorities all the way up to President Jacques Chirac have condemned the crime, calling it "unspeakable" and "barbaric". They have vowed to step up security in hospitals.
Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy hailed the arrest and expressed his sympathy to the families of the slain nurses.
Officers said the arrested man had been admitted to the Pau hospital several times and featured on a list of suspects they had been seeking.
01/31/2005 17:48 GMT - AFP