A malnourished four-year-old girl was discovered lying beside her mother's lifeless body after seemingly being trapped with the corpse for several days in an apartment in southern France.
Emergency responders found the 40-year-old mother, who reportedly suffered from epilepsy, deceased around noon on Thursday, June 4, in an apartment in Montagnac, near Pézenas, in France's Hérault department.
The youngster was found alongside the body, suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and shock. She was rushed to hospital and is now said to be in good health, placed in the care of a family member while receiving treatment.
As of Monday, June 11, investigators were leaning towards the likelihood that the death was due to natural causes. Neighbours reported hearing nothing out of the ordinary and noticed no indication of violence or forced entry.
An autopsy is yet to be carried out, but authorities believe she may have suffocated following an epileptic seizure. The little girl was reportedly too young to unlock the door to seek help, with the key said to have been left in the lock.
Fortunately, the child's nursery teacher alerted police after noticing her prolonged absence from school. Having received no response from either the mother or her relatives, she raised the alarm.
French news outlet Actu.fr also states that concerns were triggered when the mother stopped responding to relatives and neighbours from Sunday, May 31 onwards. Philippe Audoui, first deputy mayor of Montagnac, told Le Parisien: 'She wouldn't have lasted another day.'
Her mother resided alone with her and was not believed to be in a relationship, with residents characterising the family as 'discreet'.
A psychological support team was deployed to assist those who attended and were deeply affected by what 7sur7 termed an 'indescribable scene of horror'.
The Pézenas gendarmerie is spearheading the inquiry, working alongside the public prosecutor's office in Béziers. One police officer recounted the scene to Le Parisien.
They remarked: 'It was a horrific scene that really upset me. We often see dead bodies, but this... As soon as the door was opened, we realised: there was a foul stench.'
Regarding the child, the officer continued: 'She screamed when she saw all those people around her.'
According to additional reports, four officers turned up at the residence, located within a modest social housing development in a town of roughly 4,880 inhabitants. Following repeated doorbell rings and knocking, they encountered only silence.
Local gendarmes were alerted, and firefighters positioned a ladder against the first floor before breaking in through a window to enter the premises.
