An incomplete skeleton and a mystery that remains unsolved. Three days after the discovery by a hiker of the skull of little Emile, missing since July 8 in the village of Haut-Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon explained that “all hypotheses remain open”: manslaughter, murder or accident.
The first analyzes carried out by the Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie (IRCGN) on the skull, however, made it possible to establish that it had not been buried and had been exposed to the elements. This one presents “small fractures and cracks post mortem but no fracture ante mortem “, so that it is not possible at this time to determine the causes of Emile Soleil’s death. The skull also shows bite marks and is missing a maxillary jaw.
Asked by 20 minutes regarding the hiker, the head of the Paca research section of the gendarmerie affirmed that her “word had been confirmed”. “He is a person who wanted to do well,” he added. The walker had in fact indicated that she had found the skull on a small path with steep slopes and located a twenty-five minute walk from the bottom of the village. This woman told investigators that she then took it carefully and placed it in a plastic bag before taking it home and calling the gendarmerie.
According to the head of the Paca research section of the gendarmerie, handling the skull would not present any difficulties for the proper conduct of the analyzes still in progress.
“Her panties, her t-shirt and her shoes”
Note that the investigators discovered, this Monday, about a hundred meters from the place where the skull was found, personal effects of little Emile: “his pants, his t-shirt and his shoes”, specified the prosecutor. The area, with dense vegetation, had nevertheless been surveyed the day after the disappearance of the young boy by teams of gendarmes and volunteers who came in large numbers.
Our articles on the death of Emile
Regarding the research carried out with thermal cameras and specialized dogs, the prosecutor raised the possibility that the data and the animals’ sense of smell could have been altered by the intense heat at the start of summer. Around ten investigators specialized in criminal anthropology, the use of drones and dogs are still present in the village of Haut-Vernet while the prosecutor assured that the investigations would continue.