In France, two twins are accused of murders. Who exactly pulled the trigger is unknown — they have identical DNA

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Prosecutors have not yet been able to determine which of them fired shots during one of the attacks, as both accused have identical DNA, writes the BBC.

The two 33-year-old brothers and three other French residents have been charged with double murder and several other attempted murders. The charges relate to events that occurred in September 2020.

Prosecutors believe that the accused were members of a gang operating in the suburbs of Paris.

Both brothers are suspected of involvement in the crimes, but one of the main questions — whose genetic material was found on the automatic rifle used in one of the attacks — remains open.

A police officer told the court that experts were unable to determine which of them pulled the trigger. "Only their mother can tell them apart," one of the investigators said in court.

The atmosphere in the courtroom was reported to be extremely tense. On Thursday, the twins were removed from the court after refusing to stand.

Police state that the brothers used their resemblance to cover up traces of the crimes they committed. Le Parisien quotes one of the police officers, according to whom they frequently swapped clothes, phones, and documents.

Identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in half during pregnancy. They have completely identical DNA, which is why experts cannot determine whose genetic material was found on the weapon.

Identical, but not entirely

However, modern technologies in some cases allow distinguishing genetic samples of identical twins.

In August 2025, one of the twins in the USA was sentenced for the first time based on DNA analysis. Jurors found 54-year-old Russell Marubio guilty of a rape committed in 1987.

It then turned out that the DNA discovered during the investigation belonged to two twin brothers — and attempts to solve the crime were suspended.

However, almost 40 years later, scientists were able to detect some unique mutations that occurred after the egg split.

"On average, twins have eight such differences per 3 billion [genome] bases," the publication quotes Ellen Greytak, a representative of Parabon, a company specializing in DNA research.

As a result, experts were able to identify some of these tiny mutations, and one of the brothers was found guilty.

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