Europe18 August, 20262 min read
Nîmes Prosecutor Opens Murder Probe After Burned Body Found in Saint-Gilles Vineyards
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Burned body of a woman found in Saint-Gilles vineyards in Gard on Aug 12, 2026. Identity reported as Sonia Bellina, a French TikTok influencer with ~250,000 followers.
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Sonia Bellina found
A burned body suspected to be TikToker Sonia Bellina was found in the vineyards of Saint-Gilles in France’s Gard department on August 12, 2026, after a farm worker made the discovery while working the fields. The Nîmes prosecutor’s office opened a murder investigation and stepped in to head up the case, with gendarmes cordoning off the remote rural area as investigators treated the death as a criminal killing from the outset.
Actu React reported that forensics used DNA testing to confirm the victim was Sonia Bellina, and the Nîmes prosecutor was treating the case as a premeditated murder. In Saint-Gilles, the investigation was entrusted to the Gard gendarmerie group and the Nîmes gendarmerie research section, as authorities said formal identification and autopsy results had not yet been released in the early reporting.
Mia’s account and rumors
A woman who presents herself as Sonia Bellina’s older sister and calls herself Mia said the naked, partially burned body discovered on Wednesday, August 12 in the vineyards of Saint-Gilles would be that of the young influencer.
Mia told investigators she was shocked by what happened to her family and said, “She fell for the wrong guy at the wrong time. I never would have thought this could happen to our family, to us.”
Mia also described an appointment on the night of Tuesday, August 11 to Wednesday, August 12, saying, “She told us she was going out one night, and she never came back.”
While authorities had not publicly verified the identity of any person involved, the reporting said rumors about escort activities and “terrible messages” were circulating online and Mia asked people to “leave us alone, respect our grief.”
Investigation scope and next steps
Investigators said the Nîmes research section’s criminal task force, described as a cellule d’enquête, was combing the vineyards for microscopic forensic evidence and trying to determine how the victim died and under what circumstances her body was found. The Times of India said the case was being handled by the Nîmes gendarmerie research section, including a major criminal task force known as a cellule d’enquête, and that Actu React reported as many as 40 gendarmes were involved.
In parallel, the reporting described the case as an “assassination” investigation, with prosecutors treating the death as premeditated murder, while authorities had not publicly released detailed findings and no suspect had been officially identified in the provided accounts. For now, the sources said no motive or suspect had been mentioned and no lead had been ruled out, as verifications continued after the body was found “partially charred” among rows of vines near Saint-Gilles.