The stepfather of Célya, 6 years old, arrested and taken into custody after the discovery of the child’s body, announces the gendarmerie

The man suspected of having kidnapped and killed Célya, a 6-year-old child, in Saint-Martin-de-l’If (Seine-Maritime) on the night of Friday 12 to Saturday 13 July, was arrested and taken into custody, franceinfo learned from the gendarmerie.

“The police found and arrested the main suspect around 6 a.m.”companion of the child’s mother, “near the place where his car was discovered, in a wood in Saint-Martin-de-l’If”detailed the gendarmerie. Célya’s body was discovered Friday evening in the forest, near the suspect’s vehicle. UA child abduction alert was triggered around 9:30 p.m. after thethe disappearance of the child.

More than a hundred gendarmes were mobilized from Seine-Maritime and neighboring departments, as well as mobile gendarmes, a dog team and a helicopter. “A little after 10 p.m., a local resident informed by the kidnapping alert helped locate the vehicle of the alleged kidnapper. The police searches then led to the discovery of the child’s lifeless body, in a wood near the vehicle.”said Rouen prosecutor Frédéric Teillet.