Latest news with #Blachon
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Grandparents released in probe into toddler's death in France
The grandparents of Emile Soleil have been released without charge, two days after they were arrested over the toddler's disappearance and death in the French Alps in July 2023. Philippe Vedovini and his wife, Anne, were among four people detained earlier this week on suspicion of murder and concealment of a corpse. The other two, both adult children of the couple, were also released without charge on Thursday morning, prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon confirmed. Mr Blachon also revealed for the first time that investigators now believe Emile's clothes and remains were transported to the woods where they were found shortly before their discovery last spring. Mr Blachon added that analysis of the toddler's skull showed traces of "violent facial trauma" which made it probable that a third party had been involved in Emile's disappearance and death. Until Thursday, one of investigators' working theories was that Emile may have wandered off by himself and died as a result of a fall. The four people who were taken into custody on Tuesday were released after answering all the questions put to them by investigators, Mr Blachon said, though he added that the line of investigation centred around Emile's family members was not yet fully closed. "We continue to be determined to shed light on the circumstances around Emile's death," Mr Blachon said. Under French law, people can be placed under arrest for questioning for a set number of hours until police decide whether they may have been involved in a crime. Emile's grandmother's lawyer, Julien Pinelli, said that Mrs Vedovini was now resting. "It's been a tense and trying 48 hours," he said. "In an investigation of this kind... it is customary to try and rule some things out. The family [angle] was one of the lines of inquiry, it's what prompted the custody and I hope it can now be put to the side." The last sighting of Emile was on 8 July 2023, when two neighbours saw him walking by himself on the only street in the tiny Alpine hamlet Haut-Vernet, where he was staying at his grandparents' holiday home. Emile, who was then two-and-a-half years old, disappeared without a trace shortly after. Hundreds of people joined police, sniffer dogs and the military in a search the following day, but the toddler appeared to have vanished into thin air. It was not until March 2024 that Emile's remains were found only 1km away from the village by a hiker who was said to have made the find while walking in a steep, wooded area that was not easy to access. The toddler's disappearance and death shocked France, where the case continues to make headlines. Grandparents arrested on suspicion of toddler's murder in French Alps French toddler's remains found but death a mystery
BBC News
27-03-2025
- BBC News
Emile Soleil: Grandparents released in probe into toddler's death in France
The grandparents of Emile Soleil have been released without charge, two days after they were arrested over the toddler's disappearance and death in the French Alps in July Vedovini and his wife, Anne, were among four people detained earlier this week on suspicion of murder and concealment of a other two, both adult children of the couple, were also released without charge on Thursday morning, prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon Blachon also revealed for the first time that investigators now believe Emile's clothes and remains were transported to the woods where they were found shortly before their discovery last spring. Mr Blachon added that analysis of the toddler's skull showed traces of "violent facial trauma" which made it probable that a third party had been involved in Emile's disappearance and Thursday, one of investigators' working theories was that Emile may have wandered off by himself and died as a result of a fall. The four people who were taken into custody on Tuesday were released after answering all the questions put to them by investigators, Mr Blachon said, though he added that the line of investigation centred around Emile's family members was not yet fully closed. "We continue to be determined to shed light on the circumstances around Emile's death," Mr Blachon French law, people can be placed under arrest for questioning for a set number of hours until police decide whether they may have been involved in a crime. Emile's grandmother's lawyer, Julien Pinelli, said that Mrs Vedovini was now resting. "It's been a tense and trying 48 hours," he said."In an investigation of this kind... it is customary to try and rule some things out. The family [angle] was one of the lines of inquiry, it's what prompted the custody and I hope it can now be put to the side."The last sighting of Emile was on 8 July 2023, when two neighbours saw him walking by himself on the only street in the tiny Alpine hamlet Haut-Vernet, where he was staying at his grandparents' holiday home. Emile, who was then two-and-a-half years old, disappeared without a trace shortly after. Hundreds of people joined police, sniffer dogs and the military in a search the following day, but the toddler appeared to have vanished into thin air. It was not until March 2024 that Emile's remains were found only 1km away from the village by a hiker who was said to have made the find while walking in a steep, wooded area that was not easy to toddler's disappearance and death shocked France, where the case continues to make headlines.
Sky News
25-03-2025
- Sky News
Emile Soleil: Grandparents of toddler whose remains were found in French Alps are arrested on suspicion of murder
The grandparents of a toddler whose bones were discovered in the French Alps after an eight-month search have been arrested on suspicion of his murder. A public prosecutor has said that "two adult children" of the couple have also been arrested on the same charge of "voluntary homicide". All four were also detained on charges of "handling of a corpse". Emile Soleil was two years old when he was last seen walking down the street near his grandparents' home in Le Vernet in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, southern France, on 8 July 2023. The toddler was staying with his maternal grandparents for the summer holidays and his mother and father were not in the village when he disappeared. The case, which began as a missing person investigation, soon became a criminal inquiry into a possible abduction, although police did not rule out murder, an accident or a fall. His whereabouts were unknown until his bones, including a skull, were discovered by a walker about a mile from the village on Saturday 30 March 2024. Emile's cause of death remains unexplained, according to French media. Speaking nearly a year after the remains were found, public prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said the boy's grandfather Philippe Vedovini and his wife were arrested "along with two of their adult children". He added that all four were "taken into custody by investigators from the Marseille Gendarmerie's research section on charges of voluntary homicide and handling of a corpse". Mr Blachon did not identify the grandparents' children who have been detained. A source has told French broadcaster BFM TV that they are an uncle and aunt of Emile. The four people are also reported to have been arrested at more than one location. It comes as Mr Blachon said investigators are carrying out "forensic operations in various parts of the country". "A new communication will be issued at the end of the acts in progress," Mr Blachon added. The grandparents' lawyer, Isabelle Colombani, confirmed they were in police custody. A home belonging to the grandparents in Bouches-du-Rhone - separate to the property where Emile was staying when he went missing - was reportedly searched on Tuesday as part of the investigation. A journalist for French news site Le Figaro said at least one car and a trailer used to move horses was taken away by police. The developments come after a traditional Catholic funeral mass was held for Emile in Bouches-du-Rhone in February this year attended by several hundred mourners. Within hours of the ceremony, the grandparents reportedly published a statement saying: "The period of silence must yield to the period of truth," adding: "We need to understand. We need to know." In late November 2023, a day before Emile would have turned three, his parents Marie and Colomban Soleil published a call for answers in a Christian weekly publication, France 24 said.
