5-year-old Typhaine Taton was reported missing by her mother on 18 June 2009 in Maubeuge, in the Nord département of northern France.
The mother (Anne-Sophie Faucheur) and her partner (Nicolas Willot) admitted to Typhaine's murder five months later after being arrested and remanded in custody.
Their reason was a violent punishment gone wrong due to Typhaine "wetting her bed, stealing sweets and taking too long to go to sleep".
[8] While she was being mistreated, she lived "in the basement, on the stairs, in the dark," sometimes "tied to the staircase handrail" after becoming hungry, to prevent her from stealing cake.
[8][10] On 18 June 2009 in Maubeuge, Typhaine Taton's mother reported her missing,[7] claiming that she had last seen her daughter at the Place de Wattignies, a square in the town.
On 18 June, Maubeuge had been hosting a cultural festival, until the news of Typhaine's disappearance from Avenue Mabuse brought festivities to a halt at 5:30 p.m.[7] Typhaine was described as having "bobbed chestnut-brown hair, measuring 1.10 metres (3 ft 7) tall, and wearing red trainers and a pink Dora the Explorer t-shirt".
[7] Local newspaper La Voix du Nord ("The Voice of the North") wrote: "Tongues are being loosened in the families in both Mons-en-Barœul and Aulnoye-Aymeries.
"[7] National news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur added: "On 24 June, less than a week later, Typhaine's mother and her partner went as far as organising a press conference to broadcast their anxiety and appeal for witnesses.
[7] The following day, she was charged with unintentionally causing the death of a minor under 15 years of age, contrary to Article 222-7 of the French Penal Code.
According to news magazine Paris Match: "Trapped by their own crime, Anne-Sophie and Nicolas hid the body in the basement for two days before launching a macabre plot.
Once the body was buried in the forest, the couple reported the child's disappearance and had everyone believe that she had been abducted on the street in broad daylight.
"[14] On 9 December 2009, Typhaine's naked body was discovered buried in a forest in the village of Loverval, in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Typhaine suffered "slaps, spankings, punches, belt lashes and kicks" while she remained "withdrawn and unresponsive".
[20] On 29 June 2009, television station France 3 broadcast false news that Typhaine Taton's body had been found underwater.
[22] Jean-Phillippe Broyart, a lawyer for the association Enfance et Partage ("Childhood and Sharing"), stated that this was not illegal but rather a legal loophole, as schooling is not compulsory in France until the child turns six years old.
"[23] Furthermore, the school that Typhaine previously attended waited until June - the month of her death - before notifying the authorities of her absence.