FRENCH police are struggling to identify which identical twin is responsible for a horrific double murder.
DNA found on the murder weapon has baffled cops as to which brother pulled the trigger because they share identical genetic material.
The 33-year-old twins, identified only as Samuel and Jérémy Y, are among five defendants on trial accused of the execution of two young men on September 14, 2020, Le Parisien reported.
The victims – Tidiane, 17, and Sofiane, 25 – were killed by multiple gunshots in a cellar in the Soubise housing project in Saint-Ouen.
The twins have also been accused of several attempted murders on October 3 of the same year, committed by an organized gang.
Both Samuel and Jérémy are suspected of conspiring to plot the double murder, but DNA found on an assault rifle can only be from one of the twins, the BBC reported.
‘UNIMAGINABLE TRAGEDY’
Trainee pilot, 20, among 3 killed when plane crashed into waves
ACTIVIST CAGED
Nobel Peace Prize winner sentenced to seven more years in prison
Currently on trial at the Bobigny Assize Court outside of Paris, investigators claim the brothers “exploited” their twinship to get away with the crime.
The chief commander of the criminal brigade Commander Dumas told Le Parisien: “They exchange clothes as well as telephone lines and identity documents.
“For a very long time, they have exploited this twinship in their criminal careers.
“Only their mother could tell them apart.”
Genetic experts say the brothers are monozygotic twins – meaning they originate from a single fertilised egg before it divides into two identical embryos – sharing identical DNA.
Investigators instead must rely on phone records, surveillance footage and wiretaps to determine which twin fired the murder weapon.
The brothers reportedly share identical pointed goatees and a leg ailment.
On Tuesday they were expelled from the court room for refusing to stand up.
The trial is due to end in late February.
It’s not the first time a murder trial has been muddled by twin DNA.
In 2024, the identical Nightingale brothers were arrested for the murder of Yorkshire man Shane Boxall.
And in 2010, Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead chillingly murdered their mom, Nikki.