As of: April 5, 2024, 7:26 p.m
By: Martina Lippl
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After a macabre discovery, there is sad certainty. Little Émile from the south of France is dead. Now his grandfather is being targeted.
Aix-en-Provence – The Émile missing person case took a shocking turn over the Easter weekend. The two-year-old disappeared without a trace for nine months. Police and villagers had repeatedly combed the area. Then on Saturday a walker came across bones, including the skull of a child. A genetic test leaves no doubt. They are the remains of little Émile. Much is still a mystery. Now the grandfather and, above all, his past are raising burning questions, French media report.
Death of Émile: Nine months after his disappearance without a trace, there is sad certainty. The two-year-old is dead. © Gendarmerienational_X/Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Montage
The Émile case poses a mystery: two-year-old disappeared while in the care of his grandfather
Two-year-old Émile was on holiday with his grandparents in the southern French town of Le Vernet (France) when they said they lost sight of him towards the evening on July 8th. A number of other relatives were also staying with the grandparents at the time. Two witnesses said they saw the toddler running down a street.
On July 8, 2023, two-year-old Émile disappears while on vacation with his grandparents in a small village of Le Vernet (France)
On March 30, 2024, a walker discovered bones and a skull near the mountain village of Le Vernet in southern France
On April 1, 2024, a genetic analysis confirmed that the bones were the remains of the missing Émile
After bone discovery: Émile's grandfather already in the focus of investigators
Émile missing person case: Investigators searched in vain for months in Le Vernet (France) for the two-year-old. Now there is sad certainty. © IMAGO/Durand Thibaut/ABACA
The two-year-old's cause of death is initially unclear. The bones will be further examined, reports the French TV station
BFMTV,
citing investigators. Dog teams, forensic experts and anthropologists, among others, are still working at the site. Access to the part of the village where the grandparents' house is located is prohibited to strangers. According to media reports, the child's skull was found nearby.
After Émile's disappearance, the area was searched several times. The area is difficult to access and there is a small chance that the bones were overlooked, said Gendarmerie spokeswoman Marie-Laure Pezant on
CNews
. However, it is also conceivable that the bones only arrived at the site later, for example due to a person, an animal or the weather.
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Does grandfather’s past play a role?
Not only the grandparents' houses, but also the grandfather's houses were examined by the investigators. However, a dark side of his grandfather's past is now coming to light. Émile's grandfather is said to have been suspected of raping minors and physical violence in the 1990s, reports French television station
TF1
. At that time he is said to have been a supervisor in a religious community called “Riaumont”. There was a climate of physical violence and sexual assault at the boarding school, former residents tell the TV station. 20 years after he left the facility in 2018, Émile's grandfather was also investigated according to witness statements and the police temporarily took him into custody. According to
TF1
, he had confessed to slapping and beating, but not to the rape that a witness accused him of. The relevant charges were dropped.
“His name was mentioned often,” the broadcaster
TF1
quoted journalist Ixchel Delaporte as saying. She has researched the topic for years and recorded testimonies from former residents of the home. He is said to have been very violent towards boys.
However, in the missing Émile case, no connection was made between the “Riaumont” affair. According to
TF1,
the grandfather's lawyer said :
“I am of the opinion that the presumption of innocence is being violated, with dramatic consequences for the family. These people are devastated." Her client's only fear is that the investigators will lose time for Émile. Meanwhile, the investigations continue at full speed.
Another missing person case is affecting France: there has been no trace of the teenager Lina (15) from Alsace for months. Recently there was movement in the investigation. However, only a small glimmer of hope.
(ml)