Chloé Ansel was born on April 4th, 2006, and was the eldest of three siblings in a family living in the Petit-Courgain neighborhood of Calais, France. Described by her father, David Ansel, as a “cheerful little girl” who was “very courageous” and excelled in school, Chloé was known for her politeness and love of life. Her mother, Isabelle Hyart, remembered her as an “adorable little girl, always smiling.” On the fateful day of her murder, Chloé had just attended a friend’s birthday party and was excitedly preparing for her dance class, playing outside with a water pistol.
The abduction occurred around three-thirty p.m. on April 15th, 2015, near Chloé’s home. While playing with other children, Chloé accidentally splashed water on a man loitering nearby, who had been seen drinking beer by the trash cans off and on for several days prior. Enraged, the man—later identified as Zbigniew Huminski—grabbed the girl, threatened to kill her, and slammed her head against a wall before forcing her into his red Seat Toledo car with Belgian plates. Chloé’s mother witnessed the terrifying incident, but couldn’t get to her daughter in time. A bystander attempted to intervene but was shoved aside and threatened with being shot. Chloé’s ballet flats were left behind at the scene.
Huminski allegedly drove Chloé to a nearby forest, where he sexually assaulted and strangled her. Her naked body was discovered about an hour and a half later, around five fifteen p.m., by a jogger in the woods. An autopsy conducted two days later confirmed the causes of death as sexual assault and strangulation.
Zbigniew Huminski, a thirty-eight-year-old Polish national, had a long criminal record spanning Poland and France. Born in 1977, he endured a troubled childhood with divorced parents and dropped out of school early. His offenses began in Poland with thefts, including a 2000 incident in Warsaw. In the early 2000s, he moved to France, where in 2004 he was convicted of armed robbery and illegal home occupation. In 2009, he threatened a nine-year-old girl, causing significant psychological harm, and was described by the victim’s father as a “predator.” By 2010, he received a six-year sentence for violent extortion, aggravated theft, and forcible confinement, along with a ban from French territory—though this ban was reportedly not enforced for prior convictions. Despite this, Huminski had lived in Calais for fifteen years and was known to locals as a drifter.
Huminski confessed to the crimes shortly after his arrest, admitting he acted in a fit of rage after being splashed with water. He was intoxicated at the time of his capture.
The investigation launched immediately, with police issuing a call for witnesses via social media. However, some residents criticized the response as too slow, and false leads complicated matters. Due to her parents’ divorce, Chloé’s father had to formally approve a kidnapping alert, but by then, it was too late—her body had already been found.
Huminski was indicted on April 16th, 2015, for abduction, rape, forcible confinement, and murder. His trial was set for September 2017 at the cour d’assises. However, on May 15th, 2017, Huminski hanged himself in his cell at Sequedin prison, closing the case without a full trial.
Chloé’s funeral on April 22nd at St. Pierre Church drew widespread attendance, and Mayor Natacha Bouchard announced plans to convert the abduction site into a “place of rest” in her memory. She was buried at Montmartre Cemetery in Bethune.
Although Zbigniew Huminski was almost certainly responsible for Chloé Ansel’s murder, the fact that he took his own life before he could be tried means that the case is likely to remain officially unsolved.
Crime Immemorial 