9-Year-Old Boy Lives Alone in Cold Flat for 2 Years Survives on Eating Canned Goods, Cake, and Stolen Tomatoes

A young boy survived the worst conditions for a child and was surprisingly able to fend for himself. His mother has since been held liable for abandoning him.

Reports recently revealed that a nine-year-old boy lived alone for almost two years between 2020 and 2022. At first, the child reportedly lived with his older brother in an (HLM) apartment in Nersac, France, and then alone.

He survived by eating canned foods, cake, and stolen tomatoes. The little boy stole tomatoes from a building balcony to feed himself.

The child had to endure horrid conditions while residing in an apartment that mostly had no heating, no hot water, and no electricity. He only had three quilts to cover himself while sleeping to avoid getting cold. Anne Médioni, handling his case, expressed:

“There is a sad and scary side to it. This child had no way of washing himself with hot water!”

The neighbors helped him out with food whenever they could. Shockingly, they realized that he was only a minor living alone. Even the school the boy had been attending did not notice that something was amiss because he was a good student.

Once law enforcement got wind of this, they investigated and discovered the boy’s mother, Alexandra, 39, who had custody of him, lived only 3.5 miles away in Sireuil with her partner.

Meanwhile, while the authorities searched the boy’s home, they found “an apartment with very little investment” as it had an empty fridge.

He had created a cocoon for himself in his bedroom, and his mother reportedly visited him occasionally to bring him food. But when she left him behind when going back to Sireuil, where neighbors confirmed that they had never seen the child with her.

Alexandra was caught out on negligence when she asked social services to help her buy food. The Mayor of Nersac, Barbara Couturier, revealed in an interview that she met with the boy’s mother in May 2022.

Alexandra had gone to tell them she was having financial issues, and they gave her four vouchers for food. “But she took some processed food products instead, so that got me suspicious, said Couturier, adding:

“Some residents told me that there was a child living alone, so I connected the two things and I called the local police and the national police.”

While in court, Alexandra denied leaving her son unsupervised for so long. She claimed he was making up the story, but the prosecutor questioned why he would do such a thing. She said she did not know why.

Telephone records showed that Alexandra never took her child to school, but she claimed that she had always forgotten her phone. The parent further claimed her son took the bus to school, and she used to follow behind on a scooter. But she failed to convince the judges.

Moreover, her belongings were nowhere to be found in the apartment, and she claimed her toothbrush must have fallen off the shelf. Alexandra reportedly gave judges more reason to believe that she could not care less about her son when she only visited him twice after he was placed in foster care in September 2022. She said:

“I’m not a mother hen, but he’s still my son.”

Alexandra was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a 12-month suspended sentence. However, she will be under house arrest for six months and will be monitored with an electronic bracelet. The justice system described the case as “Neglect of a minor compromising his safety.”

Notably, judge Ancelin Nouallie concluded while passing judgment, “The evidence is numerous, you neglected your son.” This comes after Alexandra’s lawyer, Émilie Lagarde, attempted to show the court another side of her.

She argued what was most necessary was a mandatory care order instead while allowing her the opportunity to tell her story and explain why she treated her son that way. Since the sentencing, Alexandra’s son reportedly never wants to see her again.

A teacher said he is a “very mature, very resilient,” child. Meanwhile, a lawyer for the civil party, Cindy Gaschet, expressed Alexandra’s actions have “dramatic consequences.” In addition, the magistrate who found Alexandra guilty of abandoning her child said she needs to realize the “harm she did to her son.”

Read more about a couple that abandoned their son after seeing his face and rejected him again twenty years later.