Overview
- Investigators completed a 106-person DNA sweep Monday, the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor confirmed, and comparison testing has begun.
- The samples came from residents, second-home owners, vacationers, and walkers who were in or near the Haut-Vernet hamlet on July 8, 2023, while family DNA was collected earlier in the probe.
- Experts will match those profiles to unknown DNA found on the toddler’s T-shirt and shoes recovered in March 2024 near where his skull and teeth were discovered about 1.7 km from the hamlet.
- Testing is underway at a Bordeaux lab run by genetics expert Prof. Christian Doutremepuich, with first readouts expected in several weeks but full analysis likely taking months.
- Investigators previously reported severe facial trauma consistent with a third party, and judges ordered this broad DNA campaign after the family’s lawyers requested new acts in January.