Yvoir Bids Farewell to Tyméo Brigou at Emotional Funeral
Approximately one hundred people gathered Monday morning at the Église Saint-Eloi in Yvoir, Belgium, to pay their final respects to Tyméo Brigou, the 5-year-old boy whose body was discovered last week in a wooded area of Onhaye, two months after he disappeared with his father, according to RTBF. The ceremony brought together family, friends, and community members in a moment of collective mourning for the young child.
A Community in Mourning
The family and close relatives arrived at the church in a procession following the hearse from the mother’s house. Several streets in the center of Yvoir were closed to traffic for the ceremony, with authorities anticipating a significant turnout. While RTBF reported approximately one hundred attendees, La Libre and DH described several hundred people attending, with the church reported as full.
Following the ceremony, a cortege made its way to the cemetery. Police had implemented traffic diversions across a large portion of the town center, as L’Avenir had reported ahead of the funeral.
The Disappearance and Discovery
Tyméo and his father Bryan Brigou, 29, were last seen on 27 June in the Onhaye region of Namur province. The mother reported the disappearance that night after regular Snapchat exchanges with Bryan throughout the day. The father’s Volkswagen Golf was found empty the next day near the Onhaye football field.
After two months of extensive searches, Tyméo’s body was discovered on 24 August in a wooded area along Nationale 97, with Bryan’s body found the following day. According to the Namur prosecutor’s office, there is a probability close to certainty that the bodies are those of the father and son, though formal identification awaits DNA analysis results.
Investigation Continues
Autopsies performed on the bodies have not determined the causes of death, as RTBF reported. Additional medico-legal analyses are ongoing, including toxicological and entomological studies. The Namur prosecutor’s office stated that all leads remain under consideration and that the investigation continues relentlessly to determine the exact circumstances.
The family has publicly rejected the hypothesis of a family drama. Maître David Poelaert, lawyer for Tyméo’s mother Tina Bernard, told RTBF that the family believes an ambush may have been involved. “Madame’s hypothesis is not the family drama because there were no particular difficulties at this stage that could have suggested any risk for the child,” Poelaert said. He also noted that Bryan “had his dark side” and that the mother had provided investigators with names of people her companion associated with.
Questions Over Electronic Bracelet
Bryan Brigou was wearing an electronic bracelet at the time of his disappearance, following a 30-month prison sentence for assault. However, as RTBF explained, the bracelet worn by convicted persons does not include GPS tracking capabilities. Jonathan Péromet, director of the Direction de la surveillance électronique, confirmed that “there is no geolocation system for convicted persons’ movements.” The cabinet of Minister Valérie Lescrenier stated that all required procedures were followed.
What’s Next
The funeral of Bryan Brigou is scheduled for Tuesday, 1 September, at the Église Saint-Pierre in Hastière-par-Delà. A white march is planned for Thursday, 3 September, in Dinant, authorized by mayor Richard Fournaux. Tina Bernard is expected to become a civil party in the case. As the community continues to grieve, the investigation remains open, with DNA results and additional forensic analyses expected to shed further light on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Tyméo and his father.