French town buries murdered child as questions mount over police failings

New sexual allegations have also emerged, regarding not just Barella, but his father and brother, too.On Wednesday, Barella's brother Yannick was placed under investigation for rape following complaints by two women, one of whom was a minor at the time of the alleged crime. The other woman is his former partner. Yannick was taken into custody this week when he went to police to complain of defamation. He denies the allegations against him.The Barellas' father Joël, 71, is also under investigation after state prosecutors in Béziers this week re-opened a 2019 case in which he is alleged to have sexually abused his partner's granddaughter. A second granddaughter has also made allegations of abuse in French media. He has always denied the allegations.Jérôme Barella's daughter was a friend of Lyhanna, who was seen in his car on the Friday of her disappearance after being let out of school. He was arrested three days later and her body found on a nearby farm eight days ago.A horrific crime turned into a national scandal as France realised the scale of official blunders that had left Barella at liberty.He had already been identified in three separate sex abuse cases when he was denounced in August last year for the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl called Rosa.