The grandparents of a little French boy found dead in the Alps are ‘cooperating fully’ with investigators after being arrested in connection with his alleged murder, their lawyers said today.
The custody period for Philippe and Anne Vedovini, both 59, was extended on Wednesday as questioning about the death of two-year-old Émile Soleil continued.
He was staying at the Vedovinis’ isolated holiday home in the Alpine hamlet of Haut-Vernet, south of Grenoble, when he went missing in July 2023.
Émile’s remains, including a fractured skull, were found nearby nine months later, following daily searches.
On Tuesday, the Vedovinsis were arrested in dawn raids along with two of their adult children, identified as Émile’s aunt and uncle.
All are facing charges of ‘intentional homicide’ and ‘concealing a corpse’, said a statement released by Aix-en-Provence prosecutors.
On Wednesday morning, Isabelle Colombani, Philippe Vedovini’s lawyer, said the 24-hour extension of police custody ‘was entirely predictable’ following the raid of the family farm house in La Bouilladisse, north of Marseille.
Ms Colombani said Mr Vedovini ‘answers all questions and is here to help us get to the truth, hoping we can get there.
‘I hope these police custody periods will lead to something. The hearings are going well and without confrontation.’
Ms Colombani added: ‘Police custody is not a guilty verdict. He is cooperating fully’
Julien Pinelli, lawyer for Anne Vedovini, said: ‘My client’s police custody has been extended and will continue today.
‘She has been taken into care since yesterday with complete professionalism and the necessary humanity by the investigating authorities.’
Mr Pinelli added: ‘For a grandmother who lost her grandson in such tragic circumstances, being questioned in police custody about the tragic circumstances of this case is inevitably a difficult time.
‘Nevertheless, it will have escaped no-one’s notice that this family has experienced other ordeals, and that the one currently unfolding could almost seem trivial compared to them.’
Enquiry sources have confirmed that the Vedovinis, who were looking after Émile when he went missing, were arrested following months of police wire taps.
Conversations between them and other family members were all secretly listened to, while enquiries were conducted around their lives.
At the time of Émile’s disappearance, Mr Vedovini admitted ‘fifteen minutes of inattention.’
The search for the child finally ended when Emile’s bones were found in March 2024 by a rambler.
A witness saw Mr Vedovini, a physiotherapist-osteopath, cutting wood outside his house around the time Émile is thought to have wandered off from the property in Haut-Vernet.
Mr Vedovini is also under investigation in connection with an entirely different case relating to sex abuse at a Roman Catholic School in the 1990s.
Mr Vedovini was training to be a monk when he worked at Riaumont, a Catholic community that includes a boarding school for troubled youngsters in Northern France.
Mr Vedovini, who was known as Brother Philippe at the time, denies any wrongdoing.
Mr Vedovini gave up his vocation to become a monk, in order to marry his wife, Anne Vedovini.
Both remain devout Roman Catholics who brought up 10 children, including Émile’s mother, who is now known by her married name of Marie Soleil.
The extreme-right wing political background of the family has also been examined by police.
Émile’s father, Colomban Soleil, 27, was arrested for ‘an attack on foreigners’ in 2018.
He appeared before judges in Aix-en-Provence, and was released from custody after pledging to maintain the peace.
Emile’s parents have not been arrested in relation to the current murder enquiry.
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