The lifeless body of Lyhanna Rameau Bernard, the 11-year-old girl who went missing at the end of last week in southern France, has been discovered by the Police in a wheat silo on an abandoned farm, 15 kilometers from the town of Fleurance where she lived.
After six days of searching, the Police reported the discovery of a body on Thursday afternoon. Hours later, Agen prosecutor Olivier Naboulet confirmed to the media the death of Lyhanna, who was last seen alive leaving school last Friday.
"The search actions for Lyhanna carried out by the gendarmerie led to the east of the Gers department, to a farm located in a secluded area," read the official statement. "There, the body, which appeared to be that of a girl, was found, wearing clothing similar to what the abducted girl was wearing when she disappeared," it added.
"By order of the investigating judge, an autopsy will be carried out in the next few hours to finally identify the body and establish the medical and legal conclusions regarding the causes of death," said prosecutor Olivier Naboulet.
All suspicions point to Jérôme Barella, 41, a father of two children who attended the same school, previously accused of raping a 10-year-old girl and dismissed from the school where he worked as a maintenance worker for "inappropriate behavior" with a student. Barella claimed to have left Lyahnna "alive" on the same Friday at the municipal pool, after picking her up with his car after school. The accused maintains his innocence, but all evidence points towards him.
Residents of Fleurance wonder how someone with such a background could be free and have access to the high school. The Toulouse prosecutor's office referred the investigation to the Auch prosecutor's office following the rape complaint last year, but it apparently got lost in bureaucracy.
Lyhanna's mother, Charly Rameau, admitted in statements to ICI Occitanie that the family had suspicions about Barella's behavior after a pajama birthday party to which she was invited and where her friends' father tickled her.
"We later found out that he often waited for her outside the school and brought her snacks, among other things," acknowledged the mother, who claimed to have advised her daughter to stay away from Barella.