Two grandparents of a French toddler whose bones were discovered last year have been arrested on suspicion of murder, alongside two of their adult children. All four are held on suspicion of voluntary homicide and concealment of a corpse, prosecutors said Tuesday, per the BBC. Emile Soleil was just 2 1/2 years old when he vanished in July 2023 while staying with his maternal grandparents in the tiny hamlet of Le Vernet for a summer vacation. Some of his bones were discovered near the grandparents' home last March, but prosecutors had then said Emile's death could have been the result of "a fall, manslaughter, or murder." More bones and some of the boy's clothing were later discovered by police, per the Guardian.
Local media reported police were initially interested in Emile's grandfather, Philippe Vedovini, "who was questioned in the 1990s over alleged violence and sexual assault at a private school," per the Guardian. But Vedovini's lawyer suggested officers were wasting their time on him. After Emile was laid to rest last month, the grandparents released a statement saying they could no longer "live without answers" in the cold case. "We have had 19 months without a single certainty. We need to understand," they said, per the BBC. Their arrests came after police examined "several spots in the area," said Aix-en-Provence chief prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon. The grandparents' home was searched and a vehicle seized, according to local media. (More murder stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
