As far as I can tell, Phillipe was certainly a boy (I will fix that, thanks), but other sources do suggest 8 years old. (https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/23/archives/death-penalty-is-demanded-in-france.html) I'm not sure the timeline regarding demanding a ransom, but I think it's correct to say that Henry was hoping for a ransom but killed Phillipe when there was too much attention, which is what the text seems to say.
According to this article in the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/oct/10/worlddispatch.france
Phillipe Bertrand was a 7 year old boy, not an 8 year old girl, and Patrick Henry had already murdered him BEFORE demanding a ransom.
As far as I can tell, Phillipe was certainly a boy (I will fix that, thanks), but other sources do suggest 8 years old. (https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/23/archives/death-penalty-is-demanded-in-france.html) I'm not sure the timeline regarding demanding a ransom, but I think it's correct to say that Henry was hoping for a ransom but killed Phillipe when there was too much attention, which is what the text seems to say.