Remains of Five Infants Found in Apartment in Orange

Orange – 29/07/2026: Investigators have discovered the remains of five infants in an apartment in the historic center of Orange, in the southern French department of Vaucluse. According to the Carpentras public prosecutor’s office, police found skeletal remains of four infants as well as the decomposed body of another newborn. The findings were reportedly in cardboard boxes in the apartment of a couple.

The police operation was triggered by the woman’s partner. According to the prosecutor’s office, he had investigated the apartment after his partner’s pregnancy was discovered very late. In doing so, he came across objects that he believed could be human remains. He notified the Orange hospital, which in turn informed the judicial authorities.

The apartment was searched on the evening of 27 July. A forensic pathologist initially attributed the remains found to five infants. This initial assessment must now be confirmed by forensic examinations. An autopsy of the recovered body and laboratory analyses of the skeletal remains are intended to determine when the children died, how old they were, and under what circumstances they died. The question of whether there is a chronological connection between the individual deaths also depends on these findings.

The Carpentras public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on suspicion of murder of minors under the age of 15. The National Police’s Directorate for Organized and Specialized Crime is handling the investigation. The legal classification chosen describes the subject of the investigation; it does not constitute a finding of criminal liability. As long as medical results are pending and those involved have not been questioned comprehensively, key circumstances of the case remain unclear.

The 32-year-old woman was still in hospital after giving birth to another child, who was born healthy, and according to the prosecutor’s office had initially not been questioned by investigators. Her partner, also 32, initially remained at liberty. He reportedly told authorities that he had known nothing about any previous pregnancies.

According to judicial authorities, the couple has two other children aged eight and nine. The prosecutor’s office involved child welfare services so that their situation could be assessed swiftly. It ordered temporary placement for the newborn child and initiated proceedings before the family court. This means that, alongside the criminal investigation, measures are also under way to protect the three living children.

Judicial seals were placed on the residential building in Orange. Investigators are securing evidence and documents there. The pending autopsies and laboratory analyses are expected to provide information about the sequence of events, the identities, and the causes of death of the five infants.