You Won't Believe How This 9-Year-Old Survived Alone for Two Years!

That is amazing!

Davy

• Published in News
• January 28, 2024

In a heart-wrenching tale of neglect and resilience, a nine-year-old boy in southwestern France was forced to live alone for two years in an unheated flat after his mother left him to live with her boyfriend. The young boy, left in a council flat in the village of Nersac, near Angoulême in Charente, endured harsh conditions without hot water, heating, or electricity, relying on his wits to survive.

In the small village of Nersac, on the outskirts of Angoulême in Charente, France, a young boy faced unimaginable hardship. At just seven years old, he was abandoned by his mother, who chose to live with her new partner three miles away. For two years, the boy lived in a council flat, devoid of basic amenities like heating, hot water, and electricity.

Wrapped in sleeping bags and blankets to combat the cold, the boy washed himself with cold water. His survival instincts kicked in as he resorted to stealing tomatoes from a neighbor's balcony and scavenging for food. Despite his dire situation, the boy managed to attend school regularly, maintaining cleanliness and good grades, which masked his plight from the outside world.

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The boy's mother, a 39-year-old woman, was recently sentenced to six months in prison for abandoning and endangering a minor. The father, living in another town, was not charged in the case. Neighbors, who eventually alerted the police leading to the boy being taken into care, expressed guilt for not recognizing and acting on the signs of neglect sooner.

The town's mayor, Barbara Couturier, spoke of the boy's resilience, noting his commitment to his studies as a form of self-protection. A classmate revealed that the boy had shared his solitary lifestyle with peers, yet the full extent of his struggle remained hidden.

At the trial, the mother insisted she had lived with her son, but mobile data presented by the police contradicted her claims. The case has sparked discussions about the anonymity of modern life and how it can sometimes allow such neglect to go unnoticed.

Davy