A father who raised the alarm and a mother who was nowhere to be found. Three children from a blended family living in Taninges, in Haute-Savoie, were found dead on Tuesday November 12. Their mother is “actively sought”declared the Bonneville prosecutor Tuesday evening. When they were discovered, the victims, aged 2, 11 and 13, had stab wounds. An investigation was opened for “intentional homicide”. Here is what we know about this triple infanticide.
Three children found dead in a house in Taninges
The three children, aged 2, 11 and 13, were found dead in a house in Taninges, a town located northeast of Annecy (Haute-Savoie), on Tuesday. The mayor of the town, Gilles Peguet, explained to Dauphiné released what the grandparents had discovered the bodies. It was the father of one of the children of this blended family who notified the emergency services, according to information from franceinfo.
According to “the first findings show that the victims have stab wounds”announced Bonneville prosecutor Boris Duffau, adding that “autopsies and additional expertise will be[aie]nt quickly carried out by the Grenoble Medico-Legal Institute”.
The children's mother “actively sought”
The mother, named Deborah, is “actively sought”announced Tuesday evening, the prosecutor. This school teacher, aged 45, is described as being depressed. “Several hearings from the close entourage of this blended family are currently underway”added Boris Duffau. A neighbor of the mother told Dauphiné released that the house in which the children's bodies were found had been closed since Friday.
A major effort was deployed on site to locate the mother. Around sixty gendarmes and a helicopter from the high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM) were mobilized. Divers from Aix-les-Bains, Valence and Evian were also sent to the site to probe the water points.
An investigation opened for “voluntary homicides”
A blatant investigation for “intentional homicides” was opened and entrusted to the gendarmes of the Bonneville research brigade with the support of the Chambéry research section, declared the prosecutor. “The investigation continues to determine the exact circumstances of the commission of the facts”he clarified. According to information from France Bleu and franceinfo, a letter was found at the family's home.
The community in shock
This discovery caused strong emotion in this mountain town of 3,500 inhabitants, where a medico-psychological emergency unit was set up at the town hall. “I saw the gendarmes, the helicopter, and that's it, I didn't know anything about it, I saw it on the internet earlier, and then it was… 'is horrible'told AFP Issam, a resident of the cul-de-sac where the family lived, who did not know them. “We don't know what to say. Déborah, she's my daughter's age. They took communion together (…) We don't know what to think, we don't know what happened”reacted another of her neighbors to RTL.
Two establishments, where the mother had worked, received a visit on Wednesday morning from a representative of the rectorate and a “listening unit for staff and students” was set up with the support of psychologists and health personnel, assured by the rectorate of the Grenoble academy.
