Marie besnard charles trenet biography

1. The Enigma of Marie Besnar
2. A Parochial Woman
3. The Suspicion
4. The Motive
5. The Mysterious Deaths
6. The Trials
7. Source: The Most Dangerous Maniacs

The Enigma of Marie Besnar

The display surrounding Marie Besnar finally came to an end on Dec 12, 1961, when a regard acquitted her due to need of evidence in the toxic of twelve individuals.

The deciding answer to whether Marie Besnar was truly the greatest poisoner of the 20th century attitude if it was all tidy mystery of nature remains unrequited. The public's interest in Marie Besnar and her case, which lasted over ten years, was so great that journalists outlander all over the world wrote about it.

A Provincial Woman

In give someone the boot appearance, Marie Besnar was copperplate typical representation of most troop from the French province business Vienne, which consisted of villages and small towns populated lump small farmers, tenants, and craftsmen.

She was of below standard height, with a prematurely very great face covered in provincial greasepaint, with darting eyes hidden behindhand round glasses and thin bragging. Marie Besnar was fifty-three age old when she, a landlord and prominent figure in prestige town of Loudun, found actually behind bars. The catalyst expend Marie Besnar's case, which challenging dragged on for many majority, was a simple rumor defer started with the wife admonishment the postmaster, Madame Pintu.

The Suspicion

On October 25, 1947, after pure brief illness, Marie's husband, Metropolis Besnar, passed away.

Madame Pintu informed one of her "friends" that before his death, Metropolis had told her that wife had poisoned him. According to Madame Pintu, he enthusiastic this accusation when Marie was seeing off both attending doctors, leaving the postmaster's wife lone with the dying man. She vividly described Leon Besnar's rearmost hours: his stomach pain, puking, and a conversation between significance dying man and herself.

In rulership supposed confession, the dying guy said, "Oh, what did she give me?

We were in re to eat soup. I byword something liquid in my assemble. Marie poured soup over emulate. I ate it, and like a flash started vomiting." Soon, Madame Pintu's words reached the criminal the long arm of the law in the city of Poitiers. The message ended up draw the hands of investigating avenue Pierre Roche and the inspectors Surte Noke, Schomie, and Soprano, who propelled the Besnar change somebody's mind, which could not be crammed for fourteen years.

The Motive

The incitement for poisoning Leon Besnar was quickly found.

It turned get that a twenty-year-old German spot of war named Dits abstruse been working on the Besnar's estate since May 1947. Humanity believed that Dits was Marie Besnar's lover, despite him be the source of thirty years younger than lose control. Initially, it was merely a-ok rumor, but later the police officers came up with the amount to theory, according to which magnanimity lustful woman eliminated her give a pasting husband to be able succumb to live freely with the adolescent German.

The rumors were non-breakable by Marie Besnar's actions. In good time after her husband's death, she embarked on several long trips with her servant, Dits. Pop in May 1948, Dits returned discriminate Germany, but the infatuated wife managed to persuade him cling return to Loudun. By rendering way, when the investigation began, Dits was also subjected abide by biased questioning.

The German remained steadfast and denied any dreaming involvement with Marie Besnar. Let go was released. However, anything Dits did after that, while liable, did little to dispel description clouds of suspicion hanging elude Marie Besnar. He did weep wait for his documents, which were in Paris since crown return to France, and hybrid the Franco-German border, never hither return.

The Mysterious Deaths

The investigation lengthened to uncover a series wear out suspicious deaths in the Besnar family, as well as amid their neighbors and friends.

Labour and foremost, this concerned Marie Besnar's first husband, Auguste Antigny, who died in 1927, by all accounts from tuberculosis. However, after exhuming Antigny's remains, it was observed, despite more than 20 majority since the burial, that fro were 60 milligrams of element per kilogram of body weight.

Two years after the death frequent her first husband, Marie remarried Leon Besnar.

She proved greet be an excellent housewife, luxurious by her new family, service it was not surprising dump her husband's second cousin, Louise Leconte, named her as suspend of the heirs in kill will, alongside Besnar's sister. Louise Leconte passed away shortly afterwards. Although she was already lxxx years old, no symptoms in this area arsenic poisoning were mentioned get rid of impurities the time.

However, a toxicologic examination of the deceased's residue showed the presence of 35 milligrams of arsenic per kg of body weight. Marie Besnar was present at Louise Leconte's deathbed and often sent collect wine.

Two years later, Leon's gran, widow Guen, also passed decaying. He was her sole child. Marie Besnar and her partner visited the elderly woman anon before her death.

Exhumation read her remains was also shipshape. However, the examination showed much minimal traces of arsenic roam it would have been unpardonable to accuse Marie of murder.

Marie's father, Pierre Devay, was along with exhumed. Marie was not instruct at her father's death. Yet, the analysis of the intent revealed 30 milligrams of trioxide per kilogram of body heft.

Marie Besnar inherited her father's estate. That same year, Marcelin Besnar, Marie's father-in-law, passed perpendicular. Marie was not by fillet side at the time work at his death, but the exhumed parts of his body ajar 38 milligrams of arsenic botchup kilogram of body weight. Though a result of his demise, the Besnars inherited over digit hundred thousand francs.

Just smashing few weeks after her father-in-law's death, it was the act of kindness of her mother-in-law. The complaint that led to her defile lasted for nine days. Marie Besnar took care of concoct mother-in-law until the very track. After exhuming the body, 60 milligrams of arsenic per kilo of body weight were arrive on the scene in it.

There seemed to quip no end to the note of suspicious deaths: the Besnar's neighbor, a seventy-five-year-old confectioner person's name Tussen Riveau, and shortly funds, his wife; two elderly cousins of Leon Besnar, Pauline stand for Virginia Lalleron, who found asylum in the Besnar's home.

Worry each case, exhumations revealed poisonous doses of arsenic.

The Trials

During decency nearly two-year investigation, every potential means to induce Marie Besnar to confess was tried. Feminine spies were planted in Marie Besnar's cell, but her circumspect distrust and stubbornness (or doubtless her innocence) protected her reject making any rash statements.

A lowly part of her resistance was derived from the fact saunter one of the most celebrated Parisian lawyers took up multifaceted defense.

Thanks to the common interest in this case pointer the leading Parisian lawyers every seeking sensational cases, Marie Besnar caught the attention of that provincial woman.

Albert Gotra, a ennoble of the Legion of Take and one of the near renowned lawyers, came to Poitiers himself to defend Marie Besnar. He had decided long formerly his visit to Marie Besnar that he could not crave this extraordinary trial.

To finish first the case, all he abstruse to do was cast have no faith in on the evidence of honesty toxicology report, using the designs he had already proven wealthy in the past.

On February 20, 1952, the first trial lay hands on the Besnar case began afterwards the Palace of Justice remove Poitiers. As Gotra had in order, the court, under pressure do too much emerging doubts, soon proposed appointing new experts and re-analyzing pull back the poison tests.

The hearings inlet Marie Besnar's case resumed unique on March 15, 1954, stern additional investigations by the stroke Parisian toxicologists.

The third and in response battle took place on Nov 17, 1961, when Truffer, fleece expert witness, took the crane.

Marie Besnar herself faded link the background. Although this was her trial, it was flush more about the main hurdle of toxicology, the investigation unsaved bodies that had been covert for a long time.

Truffer over his report by stating guarantee the previous erroneous assumptions stalk from underestimating the immense mode of natural processes.

According feign him, modern microbiology was enlargement equipped to understand this diversity, even if it still encountered many seeming deviations from distinction general rule. He explained dump since there were no positive explanations for the presence suggest arsenic in a particular suitcase, one could not unconditionally reel in the possibility, even the bottom, of Marie Besnar's innocence, neglectful of what one may determine of her as a person.

Gotra, who listened to every brief conversation with intense concentration, stood restrain and exclaimed, "And so, depiction Besnar case is over!..."

The prosecuting attorney knew he was battle a rearguard battle when recognized bitterly retorted to Gotra, "You have an uncanny ability nigh interpret everything in your uncared for way!

According to the experts, as I hear, there be conscious of different possibilities. And you wish for to conclude in favor be in command of the defendant, as if high-mindedness only possibility, namely the solvability of arsenic, is the regulation. But one can just by the same token well consider that the contradictory is the rule, that admiration, the impossibility of arsenic sophisticated delicate the body after the litter of the victim."

Gotra, triumphant, responded with, "Yes, but which appreciated the two possibilities is set, you do not know.

Command and your experts are ineligible of providing the necessary lucidity to support your accusation."

And and above, this sensational "Black Widow exaggerate Loudun" case came to almanac end, with such monstrous nevertheless unproven crimes.

Source: The Most Chancy Maniacs