The Bordeaux forensic hematology laboratory, directed by Professor Christian Doutremepuich and his son Antoine, is recognized both in France and internationally for DNA expertise. Whether it concerns the analysis of judicial seals in the context of criminal proceedings or research into paternity or maternity.
It is therefore no surprise that the investigating judges from the Criminal Division of the Aix-en-Provence judicial court, in charge of the case concerning the death of little Émile, which occurred in the commune of Vernet, in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, have entrusted Bordeaux experts with the search for traces of DNA on the t-shirt and bones of the little 2 and a half year old boy who disappeared on July 8, 2023.
Foreign DNA
These elements, discovered by chance by a hiker on March 30, 2024, were immediately placed under seal by the gendarmes of the Marseille Research Section. By letter rogatory, they were entrusted to the team of Professor Christian Doutremepuich. As always in such cases, the experts took all precautions in handling the seals. “The objective is to find and identify the cells deposited on the objects entrusted to us”, indicated Christian Doutremepuich during a conference organized by the “cold case” center of Nanterre in spring 2023. “We do not we have no right to be in doubt. »
DNA was extracted from little Émile’s t-shirt, foreign to family members. This does not mean, however, that it could be the genetic fingerprint of an alleged attacker. “From cells, we are able to determine the age of a suspect to within four years, the sex as well as the apparent morphological characteristics: color of hair, eyes and skin. »
If this trace does not appear in the National Automated Genetic Fingerprint File (FNAEG), investigators will have to continue their investigations because, even today, all avenues remain open. Crime or accident? Will scientific truth provide judicial truth? The answer is eagerly awaited by the little boy’s family.
