The main suspect told detectives he had killed Herve Cornara in a parking area before arriving at the plant in Saint Quentin-Fallavier, before he attempted to cause an explosion, a source told Reuters.
#ALire "@LaCroixCom: Portrait de Hervé Cornara, victime de l'attentat en Isère http://t.co/0NNEoL31Ey pic.twitter.com/7Ds0vW34Kc"
— Duprat Annie (@DupratA) June 28, 2015
Salhi, 35, will now be transferred to Paris to be questioned further, AFP reports. His detention there could last up to 96 hours before further action is taken.
It transpired earlier that the suspect also took a selfie with his victim's severed head, before it was found dangling from a fence at the factory grounds. Additionally, the MMS was sent to a Canadian number whose owner the investigation is currently trying to determine, with help from the Canadians. The sender could also have reportedly been in Syria, which is being investigated at present.
Salhi's wife, sister and four others were earlier detained, but one of the group has since been released.
During questioning, Salhi mentioned having an argument with his wife. She and his sister are still in custody.
He also mentioned having an argument with his boss. One colleague told the i-Tele website that the two had had an argument a few days prior to the killing, when Salhi dropped a fragile piece of equipment.
The suspect's testimony is currently being verified, but an autopsy has not been able to determine whether it was consistent with the cause of death.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has dedicated every available resource in the police and domestic intelligence to the task of combatting Islamic extremism.
"We cannot lose this war, because it is essentially a war of civilization," he said in an interview broadcast over radio Europe 1. "It is our society, our civilization and our values that we must defend."
The suspect is accused of ramming gas cylinders in the hope of causing a large explosion but at the same time he is meant to have chopped off his boss' head and stuck that on some fencing
Now he is meant to have killed his boss in some parking area before arriving at site
I take it that is was a normal working day .. so we are meant believe that his boss was abducted or went to meet the suspect?
They meet in a car park and the suspect chops of his boss' head .. no one sees this?
He then drives to the factory with the headless corpse and ... pulls up outside to mount the head of a fence and take selfies? ... no one see this
He then gets back in his car and now attempts to ram the gas cylinders?