Squeezed in between the mattress and the bed

Nine days after Paulette’s disappearance, investigators made a discovery so haunting it shocked the entire nation; she had been inside her own bedroom the whole time.

Her small body was found squeezed in between the mattress and the bed frame, a spot no one had ever thought to check. Even more haunting, it was the very same bed where her mother had sat, giving multiple TV interviews pleading for her daughter’s safe return.

In a leaked video from the investigation, one voice can be heard saying, “She was severely beaten,” while examining the stained sheets.

But that claim was quickly dismissed by Attorney General Alberto Bazbaz, who said Paulette’s death was accidental — the result of “mechanical asphyxia due to obstruction of the nasal cavities and thorax-abdominal compression.”

How such a mistake could happen

An autopsy later revealed that Paulette slept each night with an orthopedic cloth over her mouth to keep it closed.

The report confirmed that her body hadn’t been moved after death and that she’d eaten about five hours before dying. There were signs of minor bruising on her elbow and knee, but no evidence of physical or sexual abuse.

Toxicology tests also came back clean. No drugs or sedatives were found in her system. Authorities concluded that Paulette had accidentally slipped down into the narrow gap at the foot of her bed, where she suffocated.