The man from Montreuil, just east of central Paris, denied having wanted her dead, his lawyer Dominique Beyreuther-Minkov told reporters. Detained by police since Thursday morning, the man reported his wife to police as missing on February 3, the lawyer said.

He had been posting about her disappearance on social media since January 31.

French news channel BFMTV reported last week that police were suspicious about inconsistencies in the husband’s story.

On February 13, park workers discovered a plastic bag containing her lower torso and thighs in the Buttes-Chaumont park in northeast Paris, a popular spot for picnicking families and joggers.

Further remains including the woman’s head were found in a search the following day, and later identified using fingerprints.

Police had opened a probe for murder, tampering with a corpse and concealing a corpse on February 17.

But in light of the man’s statements, investigators in the case have re-evaluated and believe the act was not premeditated.

“My client, who is distraught, has humanly explained as much as he could,” Beyreuther-Minkov said, adding the couple were married for 26 years and had three children.

“All the family is in shock and in a complete state of bewilderment,” Antoine Ory, lawyer for the victim’s family and children, told AFP.

The number of femicides in France increased by 20 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year, with 122 women killed by a spouse or ex-spouse, according to interior ministry figures.