THE parents of a girl who was found dead in a roadside ditch with iron burns and bite marks have been charged 40 years after she was found.
Halima El Bakhti, 72, and her ex-husband Ahmed Touloub, 74, have been accused of torturing their four-year-old daughter in France in the 1980s.
The mum has been charged with torture that led to death, while her former partner has been accused of failing to report the abuse.
El Bakhti, the main defendant, appeared in court on Monday trying to cover her face with a scarf.
Touloub struggled to make his way up the courtroom steps as he arrived using a cane, wearing a black hat, a face mask and dark glasses.
Little Inass Touloub was found in a ditch next to a French motorway in 1987.
Her remains showed signs of violence, including iron burns and human bites from a woman, according to forensic documents.
When the body was found, no children in the nearby area had been reported missing.
So police launched a plea for help across 30 countries – sparking an urgent operation to identify the girl.
Her image was plastered in tens of thousands of French school and town halls.
But the case went dark as it was never resolved.
Decades later, a DNA sample from a suspect in a separate violent case triggered a match with genetic traces from Inass’ clothes.
The DNA belonged to the girl’s brother – with the development leading to the case’s reopening.
Their parents were arrested shortly after in 2018.
The couple had seven children in total, including Inass.
Neither parent admitted to allegations they were behind their daughter’s death.
Instead, they accused each other of domestic abuse.
Additional health experts have requested to assess the two suspects.
The mum has severe kidney pain while her elderly former partner claims he suffers from memory problems.
The defence’s request was accepted for Touloub but the mum has been refused a test.
