During a press conference organized this Tuesday, the public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence gave new information concerning the death of little Emile and the bones found.
This Tuesday, April 2, the public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, Jean-Luc Blachon held a press conference to give details on the progress of the investigation and the clues discovered during the last 72 hours, since the discovery of the bones of little Emile.
Some of little Emile’s clothes found
“About 150 meters from the site of the discovery of the skull, some clothes that Emile was wearing on the day of his disappearance were discovered yesterday (Monday), below the path: a t-shirt, his shoes, and panties. None other effect, no other bones were found. The clothes were sent to the IRCGN for analysis. We do not have the partial results of the analyses” indicated the public prosecutor.
“Small cracks and post-mortem fractures” on the skull
“The first analyzes of the skull revealed small cracks and small post-mortem fractures. No antemortem trauma was observed. The skull shows bite marks probably caused by animals. A maxilla is missing. The appearance of the bones and deposits allows us to assert that they were not buried, but exposed to the elements for a long time. Analyzes are continuing to determine whether they may have encountered different biotopes. His bones alone do not allow us to say what is the cause of Emile Soleil’s death” continues Jean-Luc Blachon.
“The investigation will continue with the same intensity. The searches are not finished. They will probably continue tomorrow. Between the fall of the child, the manslaughter and the murder, we still cannot favor a hypothesis. I don’t know it’s not satisfactory,” he concludes. The bones were discovered on March 30, 2024 between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on a path that a walker remembered having taken a month before. She was able to precisely indicate its location to investigators: the skull was placed on the ground. “In summer, this is a very vegetated area” indicates the public prosecutor. A place that can be reached in around 25 minutes on foot from the bottom of the village.
“Long and complex” searches
Since Monday, the Gendarmerie has ensured that “the best experts” are working on the investigations. Anthropologists, drone operators, 3D analysts… All means are put in place to try to advance the investigation. On Monday, around a hundred investigators and search dogs were already mobilized in Haut-Vernet to get to the bottom of the discovery of little Emile’s bones. The unfavorable weather of recent days greatly complicates the task of experts, particularly when it is necessary to use drones, explains Gendarmerie spokesperson Marie-Laure Pezant: “We will favor a more favorable weather window, but “It won’t stop us from going into the field,” she explains.
Colonel Pierre-Yves Bardy was unable to give more details regarding the duration of the research to the press this Monday, April 1. “They will last as long as they are needed. There is no time limit on investigations. As long as investigators need to work in a secure environment, the area will be off-limits.” This Monday on BFMTV, the former director of the criminal research institute of the national gendarmerie (IRCGN) François Daoust indicated that the fact of having only found Emile’s skull would lead to “much longer and more complex research “.