EMILE Soleil’s remains were likely stored in a “sterile” freezer-like condition before being found, French cops investigating the case believe.
The hunt for answers continues into the two-year-old's mysterious death, with several crucial lines of inquiry ongoing.
Emile was found dead in the French Alps over eight months after he first disappeared on July 8, 2023.
The tot was staying at his grandparents' isolated holiday home in the Alpine hamlet of Haut-Vernet, south of Grenoble.
His remains, including a fractured skull, were found nearby in March 2024 following desperate daily searches.
Based on the decomposition of the remains, French detectives believe the remains of little Emile's body were likely preserved in a protected environment – like a freezer, Le Parisien reports.
Public prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon confirmed that Emile's bodydidn't decompose in the clothes he was found in and that his remains were moved before a local found them in the forest.
It is believed that his remains were moved just before the officials discovered them.
Mr Blachon said: “These elements allow us to consider that the body did not remain in the same place and in the same biotope during the decomposition process.”
He also said investigations on Emile's skull found he suffered “violent facial trauma”.
This now “introduces the probability of the intervention of a third party”, Blachon said.
Several unanswered questions still remain over Emile Soleil's death after his body was found 266 days after he first vanished in France.
Ever since the tragic discovery of a body, police have been looking into whether Emile was possibly murdered and who may be responsible for his death.
Emile's grandparents Philippe and Anne Vedovini, both 59, were quizzed by cops for 17 hours.
The Vedovinsis were arrested in dawn raids along with two of their adult children, identified as Emile’s aunt and uncle.
All faced charges of “intentional homicide” and “concealing a corpse”, a statement released by Aix-en-Provence prosecutors said.
But all four have since been released from custody.
Mr Philippe is also still under investigation in connection with an entirely different case relating to sexual abuse at a Roman Catholic School in the 1990s.
He has always denied the claims and soon transformed his life into being a monk.
The grandad also admitted to “fifteen minutes of inattention” before the child vanished.
A source close to the investigation told La Depeche the two witnesses who “confirmed that they saw the child walking alone at the time of his disappearance” are “reliable people” who they “trust completely”.
Another shocking twist recently hit this case after Father Claude Gilliot, who baptised the two-year-old, allegedly died by suicideand left a chilling suicide note.
Gilliot, 85, reportedly left a suicide note when he was found after “a massive overdose”, according to an investigation source.
The priest was close to Emile's grandparents, but the trio had fallen out in recent years, it is believed.
Father Gilliot provided a photo of Emile to the media when he was missing in an attempt to find him – only to be condemned by the toddler's family.
The family’s dark past
Some of Emile's family are said to be from an extreme right-wing political background.
This has reportedly caught the eye of police, who are still examining any possible link between the family and the boy's death.
In 2018, Emile's 27-year-old father, Colomban, was arrested for an alleged “attack on foreigners”.
He appeared before judges in Aix-en-Provence before being released from custody after agreeing to maintain the peace.
Colomban was said to have links to Action Francaise, a far-Right nationalist and royalist group, as well as the neofascist Bastion Social, according to reports.
Three years later, Colomban and his wife – also Emile's mum – stood in their local election.
They were said to have been supporting Éric Zemmour, a convicted racist and Islamophobe.
