Four people, including Emile Soleil’s grandparents, were arrested for the loss and death of a two-year-old in the French Alps in July 2023.
The other two people arrested on suspicion of voluntary murder and cover-up of the body are adult children of Emile’s grandparents, prosecutors said in a statement.
Grandparents’ lawyer Isabel Columbani told AFP on Tuesday morning that he had no comment Tuesday that he had “just heard” about the development.
Last year, some of the infant’s bones and clothing were discovered by hikers near the home of Emile’s maternal grandparents in the French Alps, where the boy disappeared the previous summer.
However, prosecutors at the time said the body did not provide further clues as to the cause of Emile’s death, adding that it could have been the result of “fall, negligence or murder.”
A sudden twist on Tuesday made headlines in France when it seemed cold. There, Emile’s search is extensively covered by the media. When the toddler disappeared, dozens of journalists were swarming together.
The last sighting of Emile took place on July 8, 2023, when two neighbors saw him walking on the only street in the village.
Police were warned soon after by his grandmother. The next day, hundreds of people joined the police, sniffer dogs and the military.
Initially, the French report focused on Emile’s grandfather, but his lawyers said they hope that investigators “do not waste much time on him to undermine other investigative systems.”
Emile’s body was discovered days after police summoned 17 people, including Emile’s family, neighbors and witness members, reconstructing the final moments before the boy disappeared.
The funeral for the infant was held in February this year. Shortly afterwards, his maternal grandparents said, “Silence created space for the truth,” and “cannot live without answers anymore.”
“We spent 19 months without one certainty. We need to understand, we need to know,” they said.
In a statement, Aix-en-Provence Chief Prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said Tuesday’s arrest was the result of investigations conducted over the past few months, with police considering “several spots in the area.”
French media reported Tuesday that a grandparents’ home in the Provence area was being searched and police seized one of the vehicles.
In France, people can be arrested for questions while police investigate whether they may be involved in a crime. That doesn’t mean that legal proceedings will always be launched against them.
