Born in Casablanca, dead at 4: 39 years later, French village still calls Inass Touloub “our little girl”
Thirty-nine years after the body of Inass Touloub was found, a French village continues to pay tribute to the child born in Casablanca. In a report published on 23 October, France Inter tells how residents of Suèvres symbolically took the little girl into their hearts, just days before the trial of her parents.
Small teddy bears, white stones, flowers left over the years. In Suèvres, near Blois, these gestures speak to 39 years of devotion. On 17 October, around 40 residents gathered once again by the grave. “She’s our little girl, our little Inass,” sums up the affection expressed at the tribute.
On 11 August 1987, motorway workers found the body of a four-year-old child, wrapped in a blanket, by the A10. On 9 September, around 15 residents attended her funeral. The priest, Jean Vannier, said: “This little girl is our sister.”
The girl was born on 3 July 1983 in Casablanca. She spent the first 18 months of her life in Morocco with her maternal grandmother before joining her parents in the Paris region, as Le Parisien recalls.
A grave protected by an entire village for 39 years
For three decades, residents tended the grave of the “little unknown girl from the A10.” The village watchman and gendarmes also kept an eye on the cemetery on anniversaries of the tragedy, hoping someone would come forward with information. In June 2018, a DNA match with her brother finally allowed authorities to identify Inass.
In its report, France Inter catches up with Annick Denis, who watches over the grave. Flowers, toys and messages arrive from all over France. The municipality has added the grave to its local funerary heritage. “This is where she belongs,” says the resident.
Raphaël Pilleboue, a former local official, also recounts how the community collectively took Inass into its heart. Her first name and the dates of her short life are now inscribed on the gravestone.
Her parents will stand trial from 2 to 18 November before the Loir-et-Cher assize court in Blois. Several residents hope to attend the hearings, continuing to support the child they consider one of their own.
