WHAT HAPPENED TO EMILE?
Tragic Emile Soleil’s aunt and uncle ALSO arrested as probe into ‘murdered’ boy’s grandparents deepens with cars seized
Disturbing details about the grandfathers' shady past have come to light
TWO more people have been arrested in the shocking case of Emile Soleil.
The boy's grandparents were taken in by cops on Tuesday on suspicion of murder but his aunt and uncle have also been arrested, according to French media.
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The two-year-old vanished in 2023 from a holiday home in France.
His disappearance shocked the world but the mystery deepened after four members of his family were taken into custody.
Grandparents Philippe and Anne Vedovini, both 59, were arrested at dawn on Tuesday, after the police raided their home near Marseilles.
Four people were taken into custody for "intentional homicide" and "concealing a corpse" on Tuesday but police did not initially reveal who the other two suspects were.
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French media confirmed today that Emile's aunt and uncle were arrested, along with their parents.
Cops extended custody for all four family members after police launched a huge search of the grandparents' luxurious farmhouse.
Two of Philippe's cars were seized, which included a navy blue Hyundai and a horse trailer.
Philippe's lawyer said the grandparents were "fully cooperating" with the investigation and police hearings.
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She said: "Perhaps what's happening today isn't what we had hoped for.
The lawyer added: "Being taken into custody doesn't mean anything."
Emile Soleil: Death of 2-year-old French boy remains a mystery to authorities
Anne's lawyer said: "My client expects nothing more than the truth about this tragedy."
Emile disappeared on 8 July, 2023, after arriving at his grandparents' isolated home in the French hamlet of Haut-Vernet.
The tragic boy's parents, Marie and Colomban Soleil, were not at the holiday home with him but around six of his grandparents' 10 children were.
His remains, including a fractured skull, were found by a walker about 25-minute away from where the two-year-old was last seen.
Timeline of the search for Emile
July 8, 2023 - Emile Soleil vanishes from his grandparents' home in a small village near Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
July 8 to 14, 2023 - Police lead a huge search that uncovers no trace of the toddler
July 14, 2023 - Cops call off the search and the investigation goes cold
March 30, 2024 - A walker finds bones near to the village that Emile disappeared from
March 31, 2024 - Investigators confirm the remains belong to the missing French two-year-old and a renewed criminal probe begins
Cops revealed these four arrests following months of investigations were "planned".
It was revealed on Tuesday that the family's phones were tapped for several months in the lead-up to the raid, according to .
SHOCKING PAST
Disturbing details about Philippe's shady past emerged last year, with French media reporting about a sex abuse scandal.
Philippe was training to be a monk when he worked at Riaumont school in the Pas-de-Calais, in Northern France.
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The Roman Catholic boarding school for troubled youngsters received multiple complaints from former pupils between 2014 and 2017.
The pupils said they had suffered sexual abuse, including rape, in the early 1990s, as well as regular physical beatings and Philippe was implicated in the enquiry as an "assisted witness".
In an interview with the police in April 2018, Philippe admitted to administering "somewhat harsh" physical discipline, but denied breaking the law.
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Eleven former colleagues ended up being indicted on various charges.
Philippe was also arrested in 2018 for an "attack of foreigners".
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