Catholic priest who fell out with Emile Soleil murder suspects ‘kills himself’

Father Claude Gilliot, 85, baptised Emile before his death within the Alps in the summertime of 2023, aged just two (Picture: AFP/GETTY)

A Roman Catholic priest who fell out with those suspected of murdering tragic French boy Émile Soleil has allegedly committed suicide.

Father Claude Gilliot, 85, baptised the kid before his death within the Alps in the summertime of 2023, aged just two.

He was once extremely near Émile’s grandparents, Philippe and Anne Vedovini, who’re currently in custody in Marseille, together with two of their adult children.

Father Gilliot incessantly expressed his upset over the murder, and on Wednesday it emerged that he allegedly ‘took his own life’ last Saturday week at his home in Aix-en-Provence.

Roman Catholics view suicide as a sin, on par with murder.

An investigating source said the explanation for death was ‘an enormous overdose,’ and that he left an apparent suicide note saying: ‘Warn my sister. Tell her I like her. Tell my brother-in-law, I like them.’

(FILES) Relatives and friends, including Emile's grandfather Philippe Vedovini (3rd R) arrive at the funeral of a French toddler Emile who went missing in 2023 and whose remains were found in March 2024, in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, southern France, on February 8, 2025. Four people, including Emile's grandfather Philippe Vedovini and grandmother, have been held for questionning by police on grounds of — Emile’s grandfather Philippe Vedovini arrive on the funeral (Picture: Miguel Medina/AFP)

A gendarme enters a vehicle outside the house of the grandparents of Emile Soleil, a French toddler who was found dead after going missing in 2023, amidst the property's search as part of the investigation into the boy's death, in La Bouilladisse, southeastern France, on March 25, 2025. A long investigation into the mysterious death in 2023 of a French toddler took a surprise turn March 25, 2025, when police arrested the boy's grandparents on suspicion of murder. The death of Emile Soleil, a two-and-a-half year old boy who went missing while at the summer home of his grandparents in the French Alpine hamlet of Le Haut-Vernet in July 2023, had remained unexplained even after the discovery of his skull and teeth by a walker nine months after his disappearance 1.7 kilometres (1.1 miles) from the village. (Photo by Clement MAHOUDEAU / AFP) (Photo by CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP via Getty Images) — A gendarme enters a vehicle outside the home of the grandparents of Emile Soleil (Picture: AFP)

Father Gilliot’s sister, Claudine Vandenbroucke, said: ‘I’m very offended with Émile’s family, because I believe it began with them.’

The boy’s grandparents and his aunt and uncle face criminal charges of ‘intentional homicide’ and ‘hiding a corpse’ in relation to Émile’s death, prosecutors have confirmed.

They fell out with the priest after he provided French media with a photograph of Emile to assist try to find the little boy.

Police searched the family’s luxurious farmhouse where Emile’s body with a fractured skull was found nine months after he went missing.

He disappeared on July 8 2023 after arriving at the house within the French hamlet of Haut-Vernet.

Two cars, including a navy blue Hyundai and a horse trailer, were also seized.

Enquiry sources have confirmed that the Vedovinis, who were taking care of Émile when he went missing, were arrested following months of police wire taps.

Conversations between them and other members of the family were all secretly listened to, while enquiries were conducted around their lives.

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