A 72-year-old woman went on trial in France accused of torturing her four-year-old daughter to death in the 1980s, after a breakthrough DNA match resurrected a decades-old cold case.
The Blois Courtroom Scene
The main defendant walked briskly on Monday, keeping her head dropped and her face hidden behind a scarf as she left the courtroom in the central French town of Blois at lunchtime. Child rights activists pursued her, crying “shame” and demanding justice. Her husband, a 74-year-old from whom she is now separated, struggled up the courthouse steps earlier using a cane, wearing a black cap, sunglasses, and a face mask.
The mother faces a charge of torture leading to death, while her former partner is accused of failing to report the abuse. The trial at the Blois courthouse is scheduled to run until November 18.
The Discovery of Inass Touloub
The case began in 1987, when the remains of four-year-old Inass Touloub were discovered in a ditch by the side of a French highway. According to a forensic report seen by Agence France-Presse, the child’s body bore severe signs of violence, including iron burns and human bite marks believed to belong to a woman.
At the time, no child had been reported missing in the region. French police launched a widespread international plea for help spanning 30 countries, plastering the girl’s photograph across tens of thousands of French schools and town halls. Despite the extensive effort, the case went cold and remained unresolved for decades.
A Decades-Old Genetic Breakthrough
The investigation turned a corner years later when a DNA sample obtained from a suspect in an unrelated violence case generated a match with genetic traces left on Inass’s clothing and the blanket wrapped around her remains. Investigators determined the DNA belonged to the victim’s brother. That match prompted authorities to reopen the homicide investigation and arrest the parents in 2018.
Conflicting Accounts and Parental Blame
The couple had seven children in total, including Inass. During police custody, neither parent confessed to the physical violence that killed their daughter. Instead, they pointed fingers at each other, trading accusations of domestic abuse.
Government statistics indicate that every week in France, a child dies from parental abuse.
