Maëlys de Araujo

On the night of August 26-27, 2017, eight-year-old Maëlys de Araujo attended a wedding celebration with her parents at a community hall in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, a small town in the Isère department of southeastern France. During the festivities, Maëlys was seen playing in a children's area and then disappeared sometime after 3:00 a.m. Her parents reported her missing to police when they could not find her.

A massive search operation was launched involving hundreds of officers, volunteers, divers, and helicopters. One of the 180 wedding guests, 34-year-old Nordahl Lelandais, a former military dog handler, was identified as a person of interest when analysis of his phone's GPS data showed his car had left the venue during the celebration. He initially denied any involvement, but traces of Maëlys's DNA were found in the trunk of his car.

After months of denying involvement, Lelandais confessed in February 2018, leading investigators to a wooded, mountainous area where Maëlys's remains were discovered. He claimed her death was accidental, saying she had fallen and hit her head, but this account was contradicted by forensic evidence suggesting deliberate violence.

In February 2022, Nordahl Lelandais was convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years. During the investigation, he was also connected to and convicted of the murder of 23-year-old Arthur Noyer, a corporal who disappeared in April 2017, and was investigated for numerous sexual assaults on minors. The case shocked France and led to discussions about child safety at public events.