(story is just over a year old, but this completely amazes me)
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In 2020, while France was grappling with the Covid pandemic, a nine-year-old boy was left to fend for himself in an unheated second-floor flat overlooking the cemetery. His ordeal began when his mother went to live with another woman and ended two years later when a neighbour finally alerted the police.
At some point in 2020, Alexandra appears to have decided simply to leave both of her boys behind in Nersac. After a few weeks, the elder of the two went to live with his father, while his younger brother remained alone in the flat.
The boy nevertheless went on to complete his last year at his primary school, Alfred de Vigny, a five-minute walk from his home, as if nothing had happened. His marks were good — so good that none of the teachers suspected anything at home had changed. The same appeared to be true when he turned 11 and moved to a middle school at Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, seven miles to the southwest.
“He did his homework, he was well dressed, he was clean and he was always on time. Kids like that fly under the radar. We don’t worry about them.”
But the winters he spent alone were hard: the gas supply to the flat was not working — which meant the flat had no heating. The trial heard he slept under three duvets.
more at https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/of-course-we-knew-how-can-a-9-year-old-boy-live-alone-for-two-years-gckvmgc0j