Parents Face Trial 39 Years After Their 4-Year-Old Daughter Was Found Dead With Iron Burns and Bite Marks

A disturbing mystery that haunted France for nearly four decades has finally reached the courtroom. Halima El Bakhti, 72, and her former husband, Ahmed Touloub, 74, are facing trial over the death of their four-year-old daughter, Inass Touloub, whose badly injured body was discovered beside a French motorway in 1987. The little girl had suffered horrific injuries, including burns believed to have been caused by an iron and human bite marks. For 31 years, investigators could not even establish her identity.

On August 11, 1987, two motorway maintenance workers made the heartbreaking discovery in a ditch beside the A10 motorway near Suèvres, in the Loir-et-Cher region of France. The child’s body showed extensive signs of violence, including bruises, burns and bite marks. Despite a massive investigation and appeals that reached dozens of countries, nobody came forward to identify her. No missing-child report matching the girl had been filed locally. She became known as the “Unknown Girl of the A10,” and the case eventually went cold after investigators exhausted their initial leads.

The breakthrough came decades later through an unexpected DNA match. In 2017, genetic material collected from a man involved in an unrelated violent incident was entered into France’s national DNA database. Investigators discovered that his DNA matched traces found on the blanket that had covered the little girl’s body. Further testing revealed that he was Inass’s younger brother. The discovery finally gave the unidentified child her name and led investigators directly to her family. Her parents were arrested in June 2018, after more than 30 years of unanswered questions.

Prosecutors allege that Inass endured repeated acts of violence before her death. Her mother, Halima El Bakhti, is accused of torture and acts of barbarity resulting in death without intent to kill. Her father, Ahmed Touloub, is accused of complicity in those crimes. Investigators believe he knew about the abuse but failed to intervene. According to accounts presented during the investigation, the family subsequently traveled toward Morocco, and the little girl’s body was abandoned beside the motorway. Both parents have denied responsibility and have accused each other of domestic violence. The father has claimed that he discovered his daughter already dead and was afraid to report what had happened.

The long-awaited trial opened on November 2, 2026, before the Assize Court in Blois, France. Both defendants appeared in court without being held in custody, partly because of their health conditions. Their physical and cognitive abilities have already become an issue during the proceedings. Ahmed reportedly complained of memory problems and difficulty understanding questions, prompting the court to approve an additional medical assessment. His former wife also reported serious health problems, although the court did not grant the same request for further examinations. The trial is expected to continue until November 18, and both defendants face the possibility of life imprisonment if convicted.

For years, Inass was remembered only as an unidentified little girl whose body had been abandoned beside a busy motorway. Now, nearly 40 years after her death, her name and the story of her short life are finally being heard in court. Her surviving siblings have joined the proceedings as civil parties, seeking recognition and justice for the sister whose existence remained hidden for decades. The trial may finally provide answers about what happened inside the family and why nobody came forward when a four-year-old girl disappeared. For Inass, the search for justice has taken almost her entire lifetime.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40894232/parents-charged-girl-death-bite-burn/