The prosecutor has released more details on the ‘family’ line of inquiry into the death of Emile, 2, after the boy’s grandparents and one aunt and uncle were released after 48 hours of questioning.
The maternal grandparents of the boy were taken into police custody along with the boy's aunt and uncle, on suspicion of “voluntary homicide”, on March 25.
They were also questioned in connection with the allegation of “concealing a corpse (recel de cadavre)”, announced the chief public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, Jean-Luc Blachon, in a press release seen by the Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, March 25.
The aunt and uncle are “two of the grandparents’ adult children”, Mr Blachon added, saying that the investigations being carried out were “criminal operations”, he said.
Read also: Emile death in Alps village: Police custody extended for grandparents
Mr Blachon held a press conference on March 27 after the four were released. He stated: “Expert investigations are suggesting the probability of the involvement of a third party in the disappearance and death of Emile Soleil.”
At the press conference, Mr Blachon shared several reasons that this possibility is being seriously considered.
Clothes and bones
The prosecutor said that recent analyses show that the “clothes and bones” discovered a year ago by a hiker “were transported and placed there shortly before their discovery”.
They had not been there since the boy’s initial disappearance, he said.
“The child's body did not decompose in the clothes found in the forest,” he said. Investigations “allow us to consider the hypothesis that the body did not remain in the same place…during the decomposition process and that it was not buried”.
Traces of ‘violent facial trauma’
The boy’s bones showed signs of “violent facial trauma”, the prosecutor said.
Analyses “allowed us to characterise the presence on the discovered skull of anatomical signs suggestive of violent facial trauma”, he said.
“The expert reports introduce the probability of the intervention of a third party in the disappearance and death of Emile Soleil” as a result.
The ‘family trail’ is not closed
The ‘family line of investigation’ has not ended, said Mr Blachon.
However, he said that “the custody of [the four family members] is part of an investigation phase in which it became necessary to confront, enlighten and submit the people most affected by Emile's disappearance to the results of all the investigations”.
He said that the four had been released because “at the end of their custody, and in light of all the evidence gathered, there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges in this case”.
“That does not mean that it is definitively over,” he added. “New additional elements may arise during future investigations that are likely to extend it.”
‘Seized planter’ had ‘no evidence’
Mr Blachon also gave an update on a large planter that was seized by investigators on March 13 from outside the chapel of Haut-Vernet, the hamlet where Emile disappeared.
In the end, this did not “contain any evidence likely to advance the investigation”, the prosecutor said.
However, Colonel Christophe Berthelin, of the Marseille gendarmerie, which is investigating the case, said: “Every clue, every physical trace, every digital trace, every description, every piece of testimony is being investigated.
“Depending on the result obtained, of course, we either look into it further or we rule it out.”
The investigation is continuing. There is a “national investigation unit” of around 15 people working on the case, said Colonel Berthelin. “We are currently processing 55 million pieces of communication data [and] have 20 terabytes that are still being analysed.”
“The investigating judges remain determined to shed light on the circumstances of the disappearance and death of Emile Soleil,” said Mr Blachon.
Disappearance and discovery
Emile Soleil disappeared at the age of two and a half in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), in July 2023, soon after arriving at his grandparents’ holiday home in the hamlet to have a holiday with other members of his large family. His parents were not present at the time.
Some witnesses said they saw Emile walking away from the house and around the hamlet, but subsequent searches (including local search parties, helicopter searches, and sniffer dog visits) found no sign of him.
Almost a year later, his bones were discovered in a wooded area by a hiker, on March 30, 2024, around 1.7 km away from the hamlet (a 25-minute walk for an adult).
Read also: Death of Emile, 2: what is known about new bone found in Alps hamlet?
Read more: Bones of Emile, 2, found in area already searched near Alps hamlet
They included a child’s skull and teeth, later identified as belonging to Emile. Another small piece of bone and clothing, also belonging to Emile, were found nearby in a separate search.
