Thousands Join Second March For Murdered Chloe

Thousands of people have taken part in a second march to remember a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly snatched from a park near her home and murdered.

Some 3,000 people left Theatre Place in Calais, northern France, at around 3pm local time and walked to the playground where the youngster is said to have been abducted on Wednesday.

The suspect, 38-year-old Zbigniew Huminski, has admitted the killing and remains in custody after being charged.

He has told investigators he stopped for a beer in the town while on his way from his homeland of Poland to England to see his sister.

As he was waiting, his lawyer said, the youngster approached him and sprayed him with a water pistol.

He has admitted grabbing her and taking her to his car.

Shortly after the youngster's naked body was discovered in a wood near the port town, Huminski was arrested nearby.

A court hearing on Friday revealed an autopsy had found she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

French channel TV3 said Chloe's parents led the march flanked by members of the dance group Chloe was a member of called the Balzac Dance Club.

Miss France winner Camille Cerf, who is from the Calais suburb of Coulogne, was among those who gathered at the playground.

The leader of the Balzac Dance Club said a few words before the group headed back towards the town, saying: "Rest in peace, our Chloe. We are launching a farewell to the passionate dancer. Honey, this is for you."

Le Point newspaper said the murder had prompted a political row in France over the government's policy of remission for criminals.

Huminski was jailed for 30 months in France in 2009 for breaking into two homes and was deported on his release, but was able to return.

In one of the break-ins, a witness said that he found Huminski in his daughter's bedroom carrying a knife

Before his trial in France, experts assessed that the Pole was a psychopath.

Chloe's mother, identified only as Isabelle, has expressed her dismay that he was able to travel around Europe at will, saying: "I don't know what he was doing in France".

A Polish court expressed "regret" on Friday that Huminski had left Poland.

Warsaw court spokesman Ewa Leszczynska-Furtak said Polish law allows convicts to remain at large until their lawyers receive an explanation of the verdict. She said they had no reason to believe he would flee.

He had been sentenced to one year in prison on 18 November for breaking into a car but was not due to be jailed until the judicial process had run its course.