Found Deceased France - Émile S., 2, outside grandparent’s house, Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 8 July 2023 *arrest* #2

[pukasonqo2]

« Il pouvait arriver qu’il mette une gifle aux enfants qui se comportaient mal à la messe » : un an avant son suicide, le père Gilliot s’était confié sur Philippe Vedovini
«It could happen that he slapped the children who behaved badly at mass»: a year before his suicide, Father Gilliot had confided on Philippe Vedovini
Father Claude Gilliot, who had baptized the little Emile, died in his home of Aix en Provence, by absorption of medicines on March 15. He had entrusted us with his questioning on the case.
He confided in Detective a year ago. On 15 March, Father Claude Gilliot committed suicide at his home in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône) by taking medication. This Dominican priest had long officiated in the traditionalist chapel of the grey penitents in Aix en Provence. His life had changed, after this man of the church gave to the press a photo of Emile and his parents. Emile’s grandfather had succeeded, by putting pressure on the rector of the chapel, to have him expelled from his church. Which the priest had never accepted.

Insults by Philippe Védovini

Detective had a long talk with Father Gilliot. He told us, “You know because of that, Vedovini called me on the phone, insulted me. He called me names. He said to me: “if we limit ourselves to the mass with you, that’s fine. But as soon as you are outside the mass it’s something else...” He accused me of not believing in the virginity of the Virgin Mary, nor in the real presence. (the belief that Jesus Christ is personally present at the Eucharist and not as a symbol, ed.)». We asked him if he was suffering from this situation, and he said, “Suffering is not that. Those who are suffering are people living in Israel, Palestine or the Ukraine. You know I’m 84 years old, I’m not going to collapse like that. Sometimes I say: I will bury them all».
Claude Gilliot had painted the portrait of the Vedovini couple. About Anne, Emile’s grandmother, he had explained: “She is very intelligent, she could be the general manager of a big business. She taught the children at home, so that they would not be affected by the cretinization of our society. To put it simply, this is a woman with balls,
and who knows how to adapt to his interlocutors, always with a smile.”

“It may be assumed that there was an accident”

Regarding Émile’s grandfather, Claude Gilliot knew that he was sometimes rude to children. I know that there was a story in Riaumont (the boarding school in which Philippe Vedovini had been a supervisor and some young people had accused him of having committed violence, ndlr), But I don’t know if that is what made him give up his vows to become a priest,” he said, before reeling in: “Well, even if I knew, I won’t say it, I’m a priest and sometimes I confess.”
The priest added: “He could slap children who behaved badly at mass, but I have never seen him do it on small children”. Regarding the disappearance of Émile, he added: “One can think that there was an accident. It is something possible too.” We had asked him, in the event that Émile’s maternal family could have kept secret of facts which would explain the death of the boy. Claudie Gilliot said, “It’s not impossible. It’s difficult, but it’s not impossible.”

wonder why he killed himself, his despair might have been overwhelming, I am a (proudly) lapsed Catholic and suicide is considered a sin (correct me if I’m wrong)

 

[Lexiintoronto]

It seems there's been a lot going on in that quiet little village

Now two people are dead

It’s like the plot and setting of a movie. I’m completely shocked.

Poor, sweet boy.

 

[Lonicera]

Grandfather held over little Emile's death quizzed over 'sex assault'

The grandfather of a little French boy found dead in the Alps was previously questions over alleged sexual assault and violence at a private Catholic school he worked at.

www.dailymail.co.uk

No, let’s not mix everything. See sexual in the death of this little boy , wait for the end of the investigation .

 

[TootsieFootsie]

First google result searching for voluntary homicide in France.


The concept of voluntary homicide is not defined in the French Penal Code. In common usage, it refers to the act of deliberately endangering the life of another person to the point of killing them.

 

[Lonicera]

It’s like the plot and setting of a movie. I’m completely shocked.

Poor, sweet boy.

This reminds us that statistically the culprits are to be found in the family circle of the victims.

 

[Lonicera]

wonder why he killed himself, his despair might have been overwhelming, I am a (proudly) lapsed Catholic and suicide is considered a sin (correct me if I’m wrong)

an act of desperation and I am not a Catholic, I am just a humanist.

 

[Cinister09]

Seem like a very weird family altogether! Was just looking at pictures from poor Émile’s funeral and the dad was smiling in all of them.

Just looked at the same images and the smile is somewhat creepy I won't lie.

 

[meanmaryjean]

Grandparents arrested for murder of French toddler who disappeared from their garden

The grandparents of a French toddler who went missing nearly two years ago have been arrested on suspicion of his murder, prosecutors said.

abc7chicago.com

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Some people smile/laugh when anxious, or maybe to avoid difficult emotions.

 

[brazgal]

wonder why he killed himself, his despair might have been overwhelming, I am a (proudly) lapsed Catholic and suicide is considered a sin (correct me if I’m wrong)

If I remember correctly, it is the only unforgettable sin because you cannot confess and repent

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I really hope most people no longer believe such a thing.

 

[Lucy6226]

It did seem too much of a coincidence at the time.

Absolutely agree.

wonder why he killed himself, his despair might have been overwhelming, I am a (proudly) lapsed Catholic and suicide is considered a sin (correct me if I’m wrong)

I'm wondering if one of the family members told him in confession.

 

[flowershop]

From an April 2024 BBC news article:

Jean-Luc Blanchon told a news conference on Tuesday that the skull had sustained "small fractures and cracks" after the boy's death, as well as bites from one or more animals.

"No trauma has been observed [on the skull] ante-mortem," he stressed, adding that it was clear the remains had not been buried in the ground."

 

[*LD*]

Breakthrough in French toddler death mystery as grandparents arrested

A long investigation into the mysterious death in 2023 of a French toddler took a surprise turn on Tuesday when police arrested the boy's grandparents on suspicion of murder.

www.thelocal.fr

A funeral mass for the toddler was held in February of this year in the presence of several hundreds of mourners.

Within hours of the ceremony, the grandparents published a statement saying "the period of silence must yield to the period of truth", adding: "We need to understand, we need to know".
-.-.-
I'm guessing: they now know.

Which grandparents released this statement?

Maternal grandparents were arrested.

If it was the Paternal, I wonder if they were applying pressure because they had suspicions. . .

 

[UK Girl]

Which grandparents released this statement?

Maternal grandparents were arrested.

If it was the Paternal, I wonder if they were applying pressure because they had suspicions. . .

It seems to me that the maternal grandparents said it after the funeral.

 

[bearbear]

some information i hadn’t read before, but i might have missed it..

The case seemed stalled for a long time, although the grandfather did come into the police's sights earlier. His name was mentioned in a case from the early 1990s. At the time, he worked at a Catholic boarding school, where children were allegedly victims of violence and sexual assault. But he was never officially charged

translated to english from this article:

Grootouders Franse peuter Émile opgepakt, jongetje verdween in 2023

De jongen van 2 verdween in de zomer van 2023 spoorloos, kort nadat hij bij het vakantiehuis van zijn opa en oma was aangekomen.

nos.nl

i hope he wasnt molested, reports sound like it was a murder or intentional death

 

[JennieM]

The neighbor saw Emile walking away from the house, two witness statements said he was approximately 20 m (66 ft) from the family home at 5:15 p.m and he was reported missing at 6:12 p.m. by the grandparents.

Not much time to murder and hide his body.

By the murder charge, do the police also mean negligence or accidental death?

Maybe he walked away, and had an accident, they found him dead when they were searching for him and they hid him? Maybe he was still alive when they went searching but they run him over by accident and they hid him?

 

[UK Girl]

The neighbor saw Emile walking away from the house, two witness statements said he was approximately 20 m (66 ft) from the family home at 5:15 p.m and he was reported missing at 6:12 p.m. by the grandparents.

Not much time to murder and hide his body.

By the murder charge, do the police also mean negligence or accidental death?

Maybe he walked away, and had an accident, they found him dead when they were searching for him and they hid him? Maybe he was still alive when they went searching but they run him over by accident and they hid him?

The witness statements were not that credible though.

Secondly no it does not appear to have been accidental. IF they found him dead why did they just hide him? although its obvious that that did not happen. He has been charged with killing him and frankly I always thought he did that.

 

[dotr]

Grandfather held over little Emile's death quizzed over 'sex assault'

The grandfather of a little French boy found dead in the Alps was previously questions over alleged sexual assault and violence at a private Catholic school he worked at.

www.dailymail.co.uk

''At dawn today, police raided the family's permanent home, near Marseille, and arrested them.

Simultaneous swoops by police nearby led to the arrests of the other two suspects, who have not been identified by name.

All are under suspicion of 'intentional homicide' and 'concealing a corpse', said a statement released by Aix-en-Provence prosecutors. It was also revealed today by Le Parisien that the family's phones were tapped for several months in the leadup to the arrest.

Last year, French news outlets including Le Parisien and the highly respected investigative newspaper Le Canard enchaîné [The Chained Duck] reported disturbing information about Mr Vedovini.

'It is above all his past that raises questions,' wrote Le Parisien, as it outlined details of a sex abuse scandal at a Roman Catholic school in the 1990s.''

Philippe Vedovini at the funeral of little Emile in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume on February 8, 2025

 

[Lexiintoronto]

wonder why he killed himself, his despair might have been overwhelming, I am a (proudly) lapsed Catholic and suicide is considered a sin (correct me if I’m wrong)

My late friend took her life, and was raised Catholic. The priest gave a sermon in church because he didn’t know how she died. When he found out, he wouldn’t attend her grave when we interred her ashes. (We had a beautiful service anyway.)

The graveyard is consecrated grounds, so that is what mattered to her parents.

Maybe this priest was condemning or punishing himself aside from not wanting to live, imo. Maybe Émile’s remains were hidden on church grounds because it is considered consecrated. (Speculation.)