The body was found in this farm building.Image: keystone
Many questions are still unanswered; a suspicious father is in custody. Politicians are already talking about judicial failures.
June 5, 2026, 8:16 p.mJune 5, 2026, 8:17 p.m
In the case of the eleven-year-old who disappeared in France, which caused outrage right up to the government level, there is now sad certainty. The child’s body discovered on Thursday in a grain silo in a town near Toulouse is that of Lyhanna, who had been missing for a week.
Prosecutor Olivier Naboulet announced this in a statement quoted by French media after an autopsy. Further investigations are necessary to determine the cause of death.
Reports and investigations against suspects
A 41-year-old man and the father of a schoolmate who took the eleven-year-old with him in the car on Friday last week, allegedly to drop the child off at the swimming pool at her request, has been in custody for several days. The police suspect him of having something to do with the girl’s fate.
As it turned out, there were several criminal complaints and investigations against the man for raping minors, some of which the judicial authorities dropped or let go. Since the last report in August 2025, the man has not even been questioned by the police, reported the newspaper “Le Figaro”.
Vehicle checks were still taking place in southwest France on Friday.Image: keystone
Politics speaks of judicial failure
«It is obvious that there is a failure here and we cannot ignore that vulnerabilities have been exposed; These must be clarified (…) as well as the responsibilities that play a role here,” said President Emmanuel Macron. The day before, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin had said that the judiciary’s handling of the information about the suspect was “completely unacceptable” and that it was a “failure”.
In France, the girl’s fate has now become the number one news topic and many people and politicians have expressed shock that the justice system does not seem to be able to guarantee the protection of children in practice.
During his arrest on Saturday, May 30, the suspect initially denied having picked up Lyhanna in his car, as “Le Figaro” writes. He was then confronted with recordings from a surveillance camera that reconstructed the events of the crime.
Jérôme B. evaded the question and claimed that he had only dropped the middle school student off at the municipal swimming pool, which was closed that day. Two hours later he was seen at his seven-year-old daughter’s elementary school graduation party.
(sda/dpa)