A mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after her two young sons died in a sweltering car in southern France, with investigators citing contradictory accounts she gave to police.
Incident Details
The boys, aged 4 and 2, were found dead in a car on Monday afternoon in Carpentras, where temperatures reached 40°C. Prosecutors initially stated the children had allegedly locked themselves inside without their mother's knowledge. However, French daily Le Parisien reported, citing a police source, that the mother claimed to have forgotten her children while shopping.
A source close to the investigation told AFP that the mother provided several different versions of events. In one revised statement, she said the children entered the car without her knowledge, locked the doors, and became trapped.
Prosecutor's Statement
Hélène Mourges, the Carpentras prosecutor, has opened a preliminary inquiry into unintentional manslaughter. According to Le Dauphiné Libéré, the mother originally told police she had left the children sleeping in the back of the car after a shopping trip. Later, she claimed they climbed back inside without her knowledge while she unloaded groceries.
Le Dauphiné Libéré reported that the two children took advantage of their mother's inattention to go outside and play, then climbed into the car parked in the driveway, where the doors closed, trapping them inside. By the time the mother realized they were missing, it was too late.
Emergency Response
Police and firefighters were called to the scene around 1:10 pm, according to La Provence, but efforts to save the children were unsuccessful. The boys suffered heart attacks due to the extreme heat.
Europe, including the UK, is experiencing a record-breaking heatwave, with highs exceeding 40°C in parts of France. Emergency services and the military have been placed on wildfire alert across the country.
