Nearly six months after the discovery of little Émile in a forest in Haut-Vernet, the genetic analysis of his bones has been completed, but the report has not yet been submitted, according to our information. The prosecutor, contacted by BFMTV, believes that “the criminal hypothesis is still relevant”.
This is a report that could contain major revelations in the discovery of the truth about the death of little Émile. The private Bordeaux laboratory seized last June by the investigating judges has completed the genetic expertise on Émile’s bones, according to information from BFMTV.
The teams of Professor Christian Doutremepuich, considered the “pope of DNA”, are now concentrating on the analysis of the little boy’s clothes. They should then submit their conclusions to the investigating judges “reasonably by the end of September”.
“This report could relaunch the procedure,” a source close to the case told BFMTV.
While these analyses had initially been entrusted to the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute (IRCGN), the Bordeaux forensic hematology laboratory carried out new genetic tests, “without taking into account what had been done before, but without this calling into question the excellence of the work of the gendarmerie”, a source close to the case explained to BFMTV.
Professor Doutremepuich’s laboratory is “accustomed to working on difficult and old cases. In 2020, it ‘broke out’ a murder committed in the 1980s thanks to DNA on a public bench in Montpellier,” another source told BFMTV.
“Scientific truth will allow us to arrive at a judicial truth”
Bordeaux scientists have set about determining whether or not there was DNA on these bones, according to a source close to the case. If this were to be the case, “it would support the criminal theory in this case.”
According to the same source, scientists are also able to say “whether the bones were moved (voluntarily or not) after the death, or whether they had been there since the little boy’s death.”
Émile: a year without a response – 08/31
Contacted by BFMTV, Maître Isabelle Colombani, the lawyer for Émile’s grandparents, declared that her clients “expect a lot from the expertise. The scientific truth will allow them to arrive at a judicial truth.”
“The criminal hypothesis is still relevant”
He had not spoken since his press conference on April 2, following the discovery of little Émile’s bones. Speaking to BFMTV, Jean-Luc Blachon, the prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, agreed to provide an update.
“The investigation is still ongoing, as are the genetic tests. The investigating judges have carried out further technical analyses [ossements, vêtements etc.]”, says the magistrate.
Accident? Crime? All scenarios are still on the table. “The criminal hypothesis is still relevant,” he explains. As is the hypothesis of animal intervention.
According to information from BFMTV, cameras were installed in the area at the end of June to observe the activity and changes in the fauna and flora at the time of little Émile’s disappearance. This involves checking whether there was animal activity at the place where he may have stopped, and to corroborate or rule out the theory of animal intervention.
While more than a hundred hearings have been carried out since the start of the case in July 2023, the prosecutor assures that there have recently been “new hearings and that others will take place. At this stage, no police custody has taken place.”
An investigation unit is still “active” with “eight to ten investigators working full time on this case”. The prosecutor told BFMTV that there have been – since the discovery of the bones – “new elements in this case. A case that continues to be very active”.
Boris Kharlamoff, Alexandra Gonzalez and Stéphane Sellami
