After the release of the four relatives of Emile Soleil, following their custody for «intentional homicide» and «concealment of a body» on Thursday, March 27, the public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence provided an update on the investigation into the disappearance and death of the child.
The public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, Jean-Luc Blachon, held a press conference on Thursday, March 27, at the judicial court to provide an update following the custody of the maternal grandparents of Émile Soleil and their two children, uncle and aunt of the young Émile. Initiated on Tuesday morning, they were all lifted from Wednesday to Thursday night. The prosecutor «explained the actions and operations carried out in recent days». France 3 Provence-Alpes details what you need to know from this update on the investigation.
The two-year investigation timeline
The prosecutor Blachon first wanted to recall «the timeline of procedural events that have marked the investigation for almost two years», since the disappearance of the young boy in Haut-Vernet on July 8, 2023.
- July 9, 2023: opening of an investigation into the disappearance of two-and-a-half-year-old Émile by the public prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains, with the investigations entrusted to the Research Section of the Marseille gendarmerie
- July 18, 2023: two investigating judges from the Aix-en-Provence judicial court are appointed to lead the investigation.
- July 27, 2023: the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor’s office requests an extension of the investigations to include offenses of abduction, arbitrary detention, and criminal sequestration.
- March 28, 2024: the investigating magistrates conduct a reenactment at the Haut-Vernet hamlet to contextualize the testimonies of direct and indirect witnesses from the child’s awakening to the call to law enforcement.
- March 30, 2024: Émile’s skull is discovered on a forest path and 150 meters downstream, the child’s clothes are found.
Reports, searches, interviews…
The recent operations are part of the system put in place after Émile’s disappearance. In recent months, about fifteen investigators (including criminal analysts and behaviorists) have been working daily on this case within a national investigation unit, particularly since the discovery of the remains, emphasized Colonel Christophe Berthelin, commander of the Marseille gendarmerie’s Research Section.
«We have worked on 3141 reports that we have all verified,» he summarized. We have conducted 287 witness interviews, including four in custody, and 27 vehicles have been analyzed by the technical and scientific police.”
Fifty judicial searches have been carried out, along with 38 digital searches. Additionally, 426,000 vehicles were detected around Haut-Vernet, and nearly 285 hectares were searched.
We are currently processing 55 million communication data, and we still have 21 bytes being analyzed.
Colonel Christophe Berthelin, commander of the Marseille gendarmerie’s Research Section
The remains and clothing were deposited shortly before their discovery
Following the discovery of the remains and clothing, the investigating magistrates also ordered «over 60 expertise in diverse fields such as physics-chemistry, funerary entomology (Editor’s note: analysis of insects), anthropology and craniofacial anatomy, child psychiatry, genetics, biology, medico-legal ecology, and medico-legal analysis», as indicated by Prosecutor Blachon.
These analyses, conducted over several months, now indicate that the remains and clothing were transported and deposited shortly before their discovery, specified Jean-Luc Blachon.
The analysis confirms that the child’s body did not decompose in the clothing found in the forest.
Jean-Luc Blachon, public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence
This confirms that «the body did not remain in the same place and in the same biotope during the decomposition process and was not buried».
On the child’s skull, «anatomical marks suggestive of a violent facial trauma» were found.
These analysis results confirm the involvement of a third party in the disappearance and death of the child.
On March 19, the investigating judges were presented with additional requests for «intentional homicide» and «concealment of a body».
Insufficient evidence for charges to be filed
The judges are still working on «several hypotheses».
The custody «does not reflect hasty conclusions related to the operations carried out at Haut-Vernet last week», including the seizure of «the planter which, moreover, did not contain any elements to advance the investigations», according to the prosecutor.
The prosecutor emphasized that the four individuals placed in custody were released without any charges being brought against them. The duration of the custody ranged from 44 to 46 hours. At the end of the custody, the prosecutor stated that the charges were «not sufficient for indictment.» The prosecutor also mentioned that the individuals in custody (grandparents, an uncle, and an aunt) answered all the questions posed to them. «The family members were present at the time of the disappearance, so it was necessary to understand their reaction in light of the family ties,» the prosecutor added to explain the exploration of the intrafamily lead in the investigation.
After the release of the four relatives of Emile Soleil following their custody for «intentional homicide» and «concealment of a corpse» on Thursday, March 27, the prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence provided an update on the investigation into the disappearance and death of the child.
The prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, Jean-Luc Blachon, held a press conference at the judicial court on Thursday, March 27, to discuss the custody of Emile Soleil’s maternal grandparents and their two children, the uncle and aunt of young Emile. The custody began on Tuesday morning and was lifted overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. The prosecutor «explained the acts and operations carried out in recent days.» France 3 Provence-Alpes details the key points of the investigation.
The prosecutor Blachon first recalled «the timeline of procedural events that have marked the investigation for almost two years» since the disappearance of the young boy in Haut-Vernet on July 8, 2023.
– July 9, 2023: Opening of an investigation into the causes of the disappearance of two-and-a-half-year-old Emile by the public prosecutor’s office in Digne-les-Bains, with investigations entrusted to the Research Section of the gendarmerie in Marseille.
– July 18, 2023: Two investigating judges from the Aix-en-Provence judicial court are appointed to lead the investigation.
– July 27, 2023: The Aix-en-Provence public prosecutor’s office requests an extension of the investigations to the offenses of abduction, arbitrary detention, and criminal sequestration.
– March 28, 2024: The investigating magistrates conduct a mock scenario at the Haut-Vernet hamlet to contextualize the testimonies of direct and indirect witnesses from the child waking up to the call to law enforcement.
– March 30, 2024: Emile’s skull is discovered on a forest path, and 150 meters downstream, the child’s clothes are found.
The recent operations are part of the measures taken after Emile’s disappearance. In recent months, about fifteen investigators (including criminal analysts and behavioral specialists) have been working daily on this case within a national investigation unit, particularly since the discovery of the remains, as emphasized by Colonel Christophe Berthelin, the commander of the Marseille gendarmerie’s Research Section.
«We have worked on 3141 reports, all of which we have verified,» he summarized. «We conducted 287 witness interviews, including four in custody, and 27 vehicles were analyzed by the forensic police.» Fifty judicial searches were conducted, including 38 digital searches. De plus, 426,000 véhicules ont été détectés aux environs du haut-Vernet, et près de 285 hectares ont été ratissés. Selon le colonel Christophe Berthelin, commandant de la section de recherche de la gendarmerie de Marseille, ils traitent actuellement 55 millions de données de communications et ont 21 octets en cours d’analyse.
Les ossements et vêtements découverts ont été déposés peu de temps avant leur découverte, selon les magistrats instructeurs. Plus de 60 expertises ont été ordonnées, couvrant des domaines tels que la physique-chimie, l’entomologie funéraire, l’anthropologie, la génétique, et bien d’autres. Les analyses indiquent que le corps de l’enfant n’a pas été en contact avec les vêtements retrouvés dans la forêt, confirmant ainsi l’intervention d’un tiers dans sa disparition et sa mort.
Des stigmates anatomiques évocateurs d’un traumatisme facial violent ont été retrouvés sur le crâne de l’enfant. Les juges d’instruction ont été saisis de réquisitions pour «homicide volontaire» et «recel de cadavre» le 19 mars dernier.
Les investigations sont en cours sur plusieurs hypothèses, et les quatre personnes placées en garde à vue ont été libérées sans charges retenues contre elles. Les gardes à vue ont duré entre 44 et 46 heures, et les membres de la famille ont répondu à toutes les questions posées. Les gardés à vue étaient les grands-parents, un oncle et une tante majeurs de l’enfant disparu.
Le procureur a souligné que les opérations réalisées au Haut-Vernet la semaine précédente, y compris la saisie de la jardinière, n’ont pas permis de faire progresser les investigations. Les charges n’étaient pas suffisantes pour une mise en examen, et les membres de la famille ont été interrogés pour comprendre leur réaction à la lumière des liens familiaux.
En conclusion, l’enquête sur la disparition et la mort d’Émile Soleil progresse, mais aucune charge n’a été retenue contre les personnes en garde à vue. Les investigations se poursuivent pour élucider les circonstances entourant cette tragédie. France 3 Provence-Alpes vous informe des faits saillants de cette phase de l’enquête.
La chronologie des deux ans d’enquête :
Le procureur Blachon a présenté la séquence des événements procéduraux qui ont marqué l’enquête depuis près de deux ans, débutant avec la disparition du petit Émile de deux ans et demi au Haut-Vernet le 8 juillet 2023.
Signalements, perquisitions, auditions :
Les récentes opérations s’inscrivent dans le cadre des efforts déployés suite à la disparition d’Émile. Les enquêteurs ont examiné plus de 3000 signalements, effectué 287 auditions de témoins, et analysé 27 véhicules. Cinquante perquisitions judiciaires ont été menées, ainsi que 38 perquisitions numériques.
Les ossements et vêtements déposés peu avant leur découverte :
Les expertises réalisées ont révélé que les ossements et vêtements ont été transportés et déposés peu de temps avant leur découverte. Des stigmates de traumatisme facial ont été observés sur le crâne de l’enfant, confirmant l’intervention d’un tiers dans sa disparition et décès.
Pas de charges «suffisantes» pour une mise en examen :
Malgré les récentes gardes à vue, aucune charge suffisante n’a été retenue contre les suspects, incluant des membres de la famille d’Émile. Les autorités continuent d’explorer différentes hypothèses dans le cadre de l’enquête.
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