As the trial of her parents continues at the court of assizes in Blois, the life of Inass Touloub, discovered dead on the A10 motorway in 1987, remains largely an enigma. Although her identity was finally established nearly thirty years later through genetic analysis and administrative discrepancies, investigators and lawyers have been unable to reconstruct who she was as a child. While the autopsy images and medical reports have meticulously documented the severity of the abuse that led to her death, details about her personality, daily interactions, or childhood experiences are absent from the judicial file. [2]
Inass Touloub was born in Morocco in July 1983 and spent her first year there with her maternal grandmother before moving to France with her family. The family initially settled in Vitry-sur-Seine, then moved to Puteaux, where they lived in a 20-square-meter apartment behind her father Ahmed Touloub’s grocery store. According to Inass P., former director of investigation at the Orléans Gendarmerie’s Research Section, the family of eight remained completely invisible to their neighbors and social services. No one from the neighborhood has come forward to describe the Touloub household, and no teachers from the school Inass was about to attend were contacted by investigators. [1] [2]
Her identification resulted from a combination of genetic matches and passport anomalies. In April 2017, investigators matched DNA from a cover found with her body to a man in the national genetic fingerprint file, establishing he was her brother. Further investigation into administrative records revealed a critical discrepancy: while her mother Halima El Bakhti listed seven children on her passport, a 1992 travel declaration by her father omitted Inass’s name. This omission, along with a photograph of Inass with her grandmother found during a search of her mother’s home, allowed investigators to conclusively identify the victim. [1]
The trial focuses heavily on the physical evidence of her suffering. Inass was four years old when she died on August 11, 1987, covered in burns, bite marks, and bruises, with an untreated arm fracture that caused permanent shortening of her limb. Medical experts testified that the injuries caused severe pain, potentially explaining Inass’s reported crying and refusal to eat. Her parents, aged 72 and 74, face charges of torture and barbarism resulting in death without intent to kill (Halima El Bakhti) and complicity (Ahmed Touloub), both carrying life imprisonment sentences. [1] [2]
During the proceedings, the defendants’ health and capacity to stand trial have been scrutinized. Ahmed Touloub suffers from stabilized diabetes, hypertension, and mild-to-moderate cognitive disorders, including memory lapses he described as difficulties remembering what he ate the previous day. Despite the defense’s requests for additional psychiatric expertise, the court deemed both defendants fit to proceed, though the proceedings include regular breaks. As the trial continues, the absence of witnesses regarding Inass’s personal history leaves her character undefined, with the court having granted privacy in some aspects of the hearings. [1] [3] [2]
As the story develops
Update
Mother of A10 Martyr Inass Touloub Shows Selective Memory as Trial Continues
During the trial of her parents for torture and barbarism at the Cour d'Assises in Blois, France, Inass Touloub’s mother, Halima El Bakhti, exhibited significant memory lapses when confronted with the brutal nature of the abuse inflicted on their daughter. The 72-year-old mother, who is facing life imprisonment alongside her husband Ahmed Touloub, acknowledged committing violence against Inass but repeatedly claimed she could not recall the most severe injuries, including deep bite marks that had permanently mutilated the four-year-old. El Bakhti’s testimony was marked by a 'variable geometry' of memory, where she remembered minor incidents like slaps but asserted total forgetfulness regarding the extensive physical trauma documented by medical experts. When pressed by the presiding judge about specific fractures in the tibia, elbows, and wrists, the defendant offered few contextual explanations beyond citing her own isolation in France and lack of support, while shifting blame to her husband despite forensic evidence showing his teeth did not match the bite marks. [4]
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- Femme Actuelle “Il y avait eu un nouvel élément” : le directeur de l’enquête de la martyre de l’A10 explique comment ils ont réussi à identifier Inass
- 20 Minutes Martyre de l'A10 : La mort d’Inass Touloub décortiquée, analysée, mesurée… mais sa vie reste une énigme
- bfmtv.com Procès de la "martyre de l'A10": les parents d'Inass jugés à Blois, 39 ans après la mort de leur fille
- 20 Minutes Martyre de l'A10 : « Mordre, je m’en rappelle pas »… La mémoire à géométrie variable de la mère d’Inass Touloub
