the discovery of bones “rather supports the hypothesis of a displaced body”, according to a specialist

The bones of the body of little Emile, who disappeared in July 2023 in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), were discovered not far from the hamlet on Sunday March 31.

After the announcement on Sunday March 31 of the discovery of the bones of the body of little Émile, this two-year-old child who disappeared in July 2023 in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), the hypothesis favored by Jacques -Charles Fombonne, former commander of the national training center for the judicial police of the gendarmerie, is that of a “body movement”. “This rather supports the hypothesis of a body which would have been moved and which would have been put precisely in this place, knowing that it is said that we would not return there”he continues.

“Given the means that were used, we really searched, that means that the body moved”, assures the former gendarmerie general. Multiple searches had in fact been organized in the surroundings of the hamlet in the days following the disappearance of little Émile. “It is difficult to imagine, even if the body was buried quite deeply, that they would have missed it. Especially since they passed by several times, several days after the disappearance of the body”, explains the specialist. A simulation also took place for the first time on Thursday in Haut-Vernet, with 17 people out of the 25 in the hamlet. According to Jacques-Charles Fombonne, someone was able to take “fear at the end of the reconstruction and came to get rid of the body”.

The importance of the position of the bones

Another hypothesis raised by the former commander of the research section of the Orléans center, that of a movement of the body by “animals”. “But we can ask ourselves the question of why the dogs who came before didn’t do it?asks the former gendarme. “If we only have the skull or only very small elements, we can imagine that it was moved by an assassin or by bad weather or by animals”he adds.

“This does not close any hypothesis”, assures Jacques-Charles Fombonne. The Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie (IRCGN) in Pontoise, in the Paris suburbs “continues the forensic analyzes on the bones and the national gendarmerie is dedicated to deploying means to undertake additional research in the geographical area where they were found”said the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor on Sunday. “Only the examination of the body by the scientific police can refute or confirm a hypothesis”argues the specialist, for whom the “position of the bones in relation to each other” will be decisive. As to whether it was an accident or a crime, “If you have the whole body with bones that are in an absolutely unnatural position, that rules out an accident.” On the other hand, “if the body is complete and the bones are in a natural position, it means that the child fell and, extraordinarily, he was not found. This can also mean that the body was placed there delicately without disrupting the arrangement of the bones”confides Jacques-Charles Fombonne.