THE grandparents of missing Émile Soleil have been arrested on suspicion of his murder in a shocking twist.
The two-year-old vanished two years ago while at his grandparents' holiday home in France.
Philippe and Anne Vedovini, both 59, were arrested at dawn on Tuesday, after the police raided their home near Marseilles.
The couple were arrested along with two of their adult children in connection with Émile's death.
The four are all facing charges of "intentional homicide" and "concealing a corpse", according to a statement from Aix-en-Provence prosecutors.
The statement said: "This morning, Philippe Vedovini and his wife, grandparents of Émile Soleil, along with two of their adult children were taken into custody."
"These police custody placements are part of a phase of verification and comparison of the evidence and information gathered during the investigations carried out in recent months."
The statement added that investigators are also conducting forensic operations in various locations across the country.
The grandparents' lawyer, Isabelle Colombani, confirmed the arrest to AFP, but did not make any further comment.
Émile's parents, Marie and Colomban Soleil, are not believed to be the two adult children arrested.
After going missing on July 8, 2023 the police launched a major search to find the boy.
For days, police, soldiers, sniffer dogs, scores of volunteers, a helicopter and drones failed to find any sign of him.
Nine months later, Emile's remains, including a fractured skull, were discovered by a rambler in what was a major breakthrough for the case.
The discovery was made "on a path between the Church and Chapel" in the village - just over a 100 yards from his home.
Émile was officially in the care of his granddad the day he disappeared as Marie and Colomban took a break.
Philippe admitted leaving his grandson unattended in "fifteen minutes of inattention".
A witness saw Philippe cutting wood outside his house around the time Emile is thought to have wandered off.
Disturbing details about Émile's granddad's past emerged last year.
Multiple French news outlets including Le Parisien and Le Canard enchaîné reported shocking details of a sex abuse scandal at the Roman Catholic school where he worked.
Philippe 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.
The school in the Pas-de-Calais received multiple complaints from former pupils between 2014 and 2017.
They said they had suffered sexual abuse, including rape, in the early 1990s, as well as regular physical beatings.
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 insisted he had never broken the law, according to a source close to the enquiry.
Eleven former colleagues ended up being indicted on various charges.
Residents of the hamlet where Émile went missing often refer to it as the "village of the damned" due to a number of horror incidents in its past.
In March 2015, Vernet was cordoned off following a horrific air crash in which 150 people died, including two babies.
The Germanwings Airbus A320 was deliberately brought down by co-pilot Andres Lubitz, who had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies.
Many Vernet residents took part in high mountain searches for possible survivors at the time.
They also opened their homes to family and friends of those who perished in the disaster.
The inhabitants of Vernet were also shaken by the murder of a local café manager in the village 15 years ago.
Jeannette Grosos, who ran the Café du Moulin, was brutally killed by a customer in 2008.
Mayor Balique said: "It was a real drama for the whole village – one which it has had a hard time recovering."
One resident of Vernat said: "Everybody is saying it – Vernet feels like a village of the damned."
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