Something new in the investigation into the murder of little Rose. Traces of semen were found on the clothes of the five-year-old girl, killed a year ago in the Vosges, AFP learned on Wednesday from sources close to the case, while a teenager will be tried in June for these facts.
Less than an hour after Rose’s disappearance was reported by her parents, her body was discovered, on April 25, 2023, naked in a garbage bag, in an apartment in Rambervillers, a town of 5,000 inhabitants.
“Nothing of a sexual nature” according to the suspect
Aged 15 at the time of the events, a teenager admitted to having dragged the little girl into his home on the pretext of showing her a kitten. Once alone with her, he had “sunk her in the bathtub”, as he had admitted during his second hearing. His trial is scheduled for June 11 and 12 before the Epinal children’s court.
Since the start of the investigation, the young boy claims that “nothing of a sexual nature” has happened with the five-year-old girl. If the autopsy report of June 6, 2023 noted “the absence of traumatic vulvovaginal traces and the anal margin”, it nevertheless remained cautious, considering that “this does not make it possible to eliminate touching”.
Rose’s genetic profile found on suspect’s penis
However, the genetic expertise carried out since reveals that Rose’s genetic profile was “found in a very small minority on the testicles and penis of the accused” but also on his pants and underwear, indicated a source close to the file. In addition, “seminal fluid and sperm were also found in these places” as well as “different places on the sweater worn by Rose” on the day of the events.
Last March, the suspect was sentenced in Epinal, in another case, to three years’ imprisonment, one of which was suspended, for rape and sexual assault on two minors, for acts dating back to February 2022. The teenager had was then placed in a closed educational center outside the department. A year later, the maximum duration provided by law for a young person of his age, his placement had been lifted and he returned to live with his mother in Rambervillers.