New Developments in Emile Soleil Murder Case: Police Initiate Extensive DNA Testing in Village Where Toddler Disappeared

A HUGE DNA testing effort has been launched to try and find the twisted killer of a French toddler.

Around 100 locals will have samples taken after the murder of two-and-a-half-year-old Emile, who more than eight months after he first .

Emile Soleil, 2, vanished in the French Alpine hamlet of Le Vernet in July 2023Credit: Enterprise His remains were later discovered by a rambler, but his killer’s identity remains unknownCredit: Enterprise

DNA testing is already underway, and around 100 people in the village will submit samples – cops hope the evidence could help them finally find Emile’s murderer.

The tot was staying at his grandparents’ isolated holiday home in the Alpine hamlet of Haut-Vernet, south of Grenoble.

But he vanished without a trace as the family were getting ready to leave the house on the morning of July 8, 2023.

A desperate search was launched, with locals and search and rescue teams scouring the area using a helicopter, and sniffer dogs – Emile was nowhere to be found.

266 days later, his remains were discovered by a rambler in what was a major breakthrough for the case.

He had a fractured skull, and investigations on Emile found he suffered “violent facial trauma”, prosecutors said.

Cops said the body had been moved when the child was already dead.

Chillingly, Emile had not died in the clothes he was wearing when he was discovered, added.

And the decomposition of the remains suggests that little Emile’s body was likely – like a freezer.

He was found in an area which had already been thoroughly searched by police, suggesting someone had brought his body back there.

Emile’s grandparents , both 59, had their DNA taken at the start of the .

They were quizzed by cops for 17 hours after Emile was found dead.

along with two of their adult children, identified as Émile’s aunt and uncle.

All faced charges of ‘intentional homicide’ and ‘concealing a corpse’, a statement released by Aix-en-Provence prosecutors said.

Now a huge DNA testing effort is underway to find the tot’s murdererCredit: Enterprise Police took DNA from the child’s grandparents at the start of the investigationCredit: Peter Jordan Cops hope the new testing could lead to a breakthrough in little Emile’s murder caseCredit: Social Media

But all four denied the charges and 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”.

Last year, in another twist in the case, , who baptised the two-year-old, and 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 investigation continues.