Perhaps, speculated neighbours and police, the tin of preserved beans was contaminated, bringing on a swift and fatal case of botulism. Detectives dispatched it, along with the camembert, beef, bread and wine, to the Pasteur Institute in Paris for analysis. The local mayor, Patrice Leriget, told journalists the dinner scene looked as if “as if time had suddenly stopped”. On Wednesday, after days of speculation across France, the cause of the twin deaths was revealed to be more prosaic. At the local Au Bon Coin bistrot, the owner said the pair regularly dined and drank together and were like “father and son”.

Source: The Guardian August 09, 2017 13:03 UTC