This morning, during a press conference, the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor provided an update on the case of the disappearance of little Émile Soleil. He announced: « The clothes and bones were moved shortly before their discovery. and that forensic analyses revealed “stigmata suggestive of violent facial trauma.”
Regarding the planter seized during the investigations, the prosecutor specified that it “did not contain any element likely to advance the investigation”The people in custody answered all the investigators' questions. However, the charges against them proved insufficient to justify an indictment. Importantly, the magistrate emphasized that “The family trail is not closed.”
An intriguing disappearance
As a reminder, Émile, aged two and a half, disappeared on July 8, 2023, while staying with his grandparents in their second home in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet, located at an altitude of 1 meters in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. His parents were absent at the time of the incident, unlike several other members of the family.
Extensive searches, including citizen roundups and judicial sweeps, were conducted in this isolated and steep area, without success. For nine months, the investigation yielded no new evidence, until the chance discovery, in late March 2024, by a hiker, of a skull and teeth belonging to the child, approximately 1,7 km from the hamlet, a 25-minute walk for an adult. Clothing and a bone fragment were also found nearby.
At the beginning of February, the little boy's funeral took place in the basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (Var), in the presence of his parents and grandparents, who were particularly discreet.
On March 13, the presence of investigators in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet reignited speculation. The police seized a large planter in front of the parish church, in which traces of blood were detected.
