Man arrested after keeping 9-year-old son in locked van since 2024
April 11 (UPI) -- French authorities arrested a man and his partner after discovering the man's 9-year-old son in a van, which he'd been forced to live in since 2024.
Police said the boy was found in the vehicle amid a pile of trash, naked and lying in the fetal position when they opened the van doors after a neighbor said they heard "the sounds of a child" from inside it, The Guardian and Fox News reported.
A prosecutor, Nicolas Heitz, told reporters that police were called to a French village called Hagenbach, located near the borders of Switzerland and Germany, and that the boy was malnourished and could not walk because he'd been forced to stay seated for at least 1 1/2 years.
His 43-year-old father, whose name has not been released, told police that he'd locked the boy in the van to prevent his partner from placing the nine-year-old in a psychiatric treatment facility.
The man and his 37-year-old partner lived in an apartment in the village with the nine-year-old, as well as the boy's 12-year-old sister and 10-year-old half-sister.
The boy told police that his father brought him food twice a day, as well as bottles of water, but he had not showered since November 2024, when his father decided to hide him in the van.
He also told police that he would urinate in the plastic bottles and defecate in garbage bags.
The boy reportedly had no record of psychiatric conditions, although teachers were told he had transferred schools and neighbors were under the impression he had been sent to a psychiatric facility.
The father has been arrested and charged for detaining the child in the van and for depriving him of food and medical care, while his partner was charged with not helping the mistreated child but was released on bail after their arrest.
All three of the children have been placed in temporary care.
Nebraska police fatally shoot woman seen slashing toddler she kidnapped from Walmart
Nebraska police fatally shot a woman who slashed a toddler after leading the child out of a Walmart at knifepoint in an alleged kidnapping, according to cops and body-worn camera images.
Cops responded to a Walmart in Omaha just after 9:10 a.m. for reports of a woman armed with a “large kitchen knife” who had a young child, according to the Omaha Police Department.
Surveillance footage caught the woman, later identified as 31-year-old Noemi Guzman, shoplifting the knife from the store and approaching a 3-year-old boy and his guardian in an aisle, police said.
Guzman was seen brandishing the knife and forcing the female shopper to walk ahead of the cart as the child remained inside it. She then terrifyingly led them through the store and into the parking lot, cops added. The knife-wielding woman “took possession of the child, essentially kidnapping the child,” Deputy Chief Scott Gray said at a press conference.
A two-officer patrol unit arrived and discovered Guzman in the parking lot, standing by the shopping cart with the young child inside.
Guzman continued to make threats with the knife and — after ignoring several pleas from officers to drop the weapon — slashed the boy, authorities said.
Harrowing images from body camera footage captured Guzman, who had dyed red hair, a purple tank top, and plaid pants, holding the large knife up near the boy’s face as a cop drew their gun.
The two officers fired their weapons and struck Guzman, as the toddler’s guardian and a bystander immediately removed him from the cart and provided medical aid.
Lifesaving measures were given to Guzman, but she died at the scene, police said.
The child was being treated at a hospital for a large laceration across the left side of his face and on his hand. He is expected to survive.
“The responding officers acted with professionalism and direct action to intervene and save a child’s life,” Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said in a statement.
“The community can be reassured in knowing that Omaha police officers stand ready to act with courage and decisiveness in the most serious situations to protect the public,” Schmaderer said.
The Omaha Police Department Officer-Involved Investigations Team will investigate the incident alongside the Nebraska State Patrol, and the Douglas and Sarpy County Sheriff’s Offices.
“The Omaha Police Department offers its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Guzman during this difficult time,” the department said in a statement.
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