Prologue: Alas I Have Little Hope
p.xi “with blue eyes and chestnut hair, medium height”: Marie Lacoste letter to the mayor of Gambais, 12 Jan 1919, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
Chapter 1: The Locked Chest
p.3 “a commercial traveller and a wine trader”: La Presse, 24 Aug 1919.
p.3 “in order to tide her over”: ‘Renseignements fournit par l’Enregistrement au sujet de la succession de M. Cuchet’, 12 July 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 32. ‘Rapport de l’Inspecteur de Police Peretti’, 2 July 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet; ‘Déclaration de Mme Bazire’, 28 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2613, Dossier Cuchet.
p.3 “for whom she worked from home”: Jeanne Cuchet to Pierre Capdevieille, undated letter, 1912, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.4 “despite taking Cuchet’s surname”: ‘Déposition d’Albert Folvary’, 26 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2605, Dossier Cuchet.
p.4 “her plans to find a husband”: ‘Déposition d’Albert Folvary’, 26 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2605, Dossier Cuchet.
p.4 “looking up for André that autumn”: In his will, Martin Cuchet recognised André as his son. However, Cuchet was probably living in his home town of Limoges at the time of André’s birth in 1897 and did not marry Jeanne until 1904.
p.4 “a gang of older lads”:‘Audition de Pierre Capdevieille’ in ‘Rapport sur André Cuchet’, 2 July 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.4 “his new friend’s condescension”: ‘Déposition de Mme Morin’, 1919 (undated), Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.5 “ask any more questions”: Jeanne continued to work for Folvary until 18 April 1914, making clothes he had already commissioned from her. Le Petit Parisien, 10 Nov 1921.
p.5 “bookstore employee called Georges Friedman”: The name “Friedman” was sometimes misspelt “Friedmann” in the police and judicial records of the case. At Landru’s trial, some newspapers incorrectly gave Friedman’s first name as “Albert” rather than “Georges”, because of a clerical error on the original witness list.
p.5 “suspicious of Jeanne’s fiancé”: ‘Disparition de Mme Cuchet et de son fils’, Georges Friedman interview, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.5 “anywhere near the colony”: ‘Disparition de Mme Cuchet et de son fils’, Georges Friedman interview, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.6 “who invited him to eat”: Statement of Mme Jeanne Hardy, Gouvieux, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2659.
p.7 “‘strong aversion’ to Jeanne’s disagreeable fiancé”:‘Audition de Mme Friedman’, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.7 “crossing points to England”: Police report on movements of Landru family, 1914–15, 3 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/788.
p.7 “from his bank account”: ‘Affaire Cuchet, Rapport de l’Inspecteur de la Police Brandenburger’, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.7 “night in the farmhouse”: Police report on movements of Landru family, 1914–15, 3 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/788.
p.7 “directly to Paris by train”: ‘Affaire Cuchet’ Rapport de l’Inspecteur de la Police Brandenburger’, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.8 “farmer and his wife agreed”: Police report on movements of Landru family, 1914–15, 3 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/788.
p.8 “returned to her old apartment”: Statement of Mme Jeanne Hardy, Gouvieux, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2659.
p.8 “they were safe”: Police report on movements of Landru family, 1914–15, 3 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/788.
p.9 “real surname was Cuchet, not Diard”: Statement of Mme Jeanne Hardy, Gouvieux, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2659.
p.9 “relations with Landru, alias Diard”: ‘Disparition de Mme Cuchet et de son fils’, Georges Friedman interview, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.9 “never set foot in her apartment again”: ‘Déposition de Mme Pelletier’, 25 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/2608, Dossier Cuchet.
p.9 “island of New Caledonia”: ‘Disparition de Mme Cuchet et de son fils’, Georges Friedman interview, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.10 “a letter to Mme Hardy”: Statement of Mme Jeanne Hardy, Gouvieux, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2659.
Chapter 2: The Lodge at Vernouillet
p.11 “passed by the apartment”: ‘Audition de Mlle Marcelle Chaize’ (Soeur Valentine), 20 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769, Dossier Cuchet.
p.12 “created ‘havoc’ by dossing down in the villa”: ‘Déposition de Mme Pelletier’, 18 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.12 “got the boy off his hands”: Statement of Mme Jeanne Hardy, Gouvieux, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2659.
p.12 “‘great sorrow’ through her own tears”: ‘Déposition de Mme Morin’, 1919 (undated), Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.12 “news about you as soon as possible”: André Cuchet letter to Max Morin, 10 Sept 1914, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2758. Max’s letters to André were never found by the police.
p.13 “lamented to Max in early September”: André Cuchet letter to Max Morin, 10 Sept 1914.
p.13 “enlist as an underage volunteer”: ‘Déposition de Mme Morin’, 1919 (undated), Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.13 “did not speak to me about him any more”: ‘Déposition de Mme Morin’, 1919 (undated), Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.13 the same unfounded news”: ‘Déposition de Mme Morin’, 1919 (undated), Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.13 “how to fire it if necessary”: André Cuchet letter to Max Morin, 4 Oct 1914, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2757.
p.14 “Maman does not want me to sign up”: André Cuchet letter to Max Morin, 25 Oct 1914, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2755.
p.14 “to give her final approval”: ‘Audition de Mme Oudry’, 15 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.15 “the short-term quarterly lease”: ‘Audition de Mme Oudry’, 15 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.15 “get my breath back”: André Cuchet letter to Max Morin, 22 Dec 1914, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2753.
p.16 “everything was rushed through”: Jeanne Cuchet letter to Mme Morin, 4 Jan 1915, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2760.
p.16 “such a visit was currently impractical”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif’, p.50, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772.
p.16 “wearing mechanic’s overalls”: ‘Déposition de Mme Vallet, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2676; ‘Déposition d’Auguste Vallet’, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2670.
p.16 “a secret German agent”: ‘Déposition de Mme Picque’, 15 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.17 “the ‘class’ of 1917”: Le Journal, 10 Jan 1915.
p.17 “I cannot avoid this destiny”: André Cuchet to Max Morin, 20 Jan 1915, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/2745.
p.17 “to convey his congratulations”: André Cuchet to Louis Germain, 27 Jan 1915, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/2744.
Chapter 3: The “Carnet Noir”
p.19 “a piece of his mind”: ‘Déposition de Mme Morin’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.19 “âge situation rapport”: The first-known lonely hearts advert by Landru appeared in L’Echo de Paris on 15 March. Landru may have decided to place a second advert in Le Journal because it had a bigger circulation, with around 1 million readers throughout France.
p.20 “Accept my respectful sentiments, Buisson”: Le Matin, 22 May 1933, serialisation of Louis Riboulet, Sam Cohen, La Véritable Affaire Landru (Paris, 1933).
p.20 “early months of the war”: Le Gaulois, 17 Nov 1921.
p.21 “a wife who loves her husband must do”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 22 May 1933.
p.21 “really counts for something”: ‘Déposition de Gaston Lavie’, 29 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3262, Dossier Buisson.
p.21 “he eventually scribbled”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 22 May 1933.
p.21 “amounts to 8,000 francs”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 17 May 1933.
p.22 “drink himself to an early death”: ‘Etat Civil de Mme Collomb’, 7 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.22 “often staying the night”: L’Humanité, 15 Nov 1921.
p.22 “imprisonment as an enemy alien”: Report on Thérèse Rundinger, alias Mlle Lydie, 19 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3972.
p.22 “another unknown address (8.00 pm)”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif’, p.298, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772; Riboulet, Le Matin, 29 May 1933.
p.23 “‘intolerable sinuses’”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 29 May 1933.
p.23 “decided to follow him”: ‘Audition de Monsieur Laborde-Line’, 19 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Laborde-Line.
p.23 “who soon loathed her”: ‘Audition de Monsieur Laborde-Line’, 19 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Laborde-Line.
p.24 “neglected nothing to find a position”: Thérèse Laborde-Line letter to Vincent Laborde-Line, 27 July 1914, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2869, Dossier Laborde-Line.
p.24 “came to Landru’s attention”: Thérèse used the name “Mme Raoul” in her small advert enquiring about work as a lady’s companion and may have used it again if she replied to Landru’s lonely hearts advert in Le Journal, 1 May 1915. Landru subsequently adopted “Raoul” as one of his aliases.
p.24 “now engaged to be married”: ‘Audition de Mme Tréborel’, 20 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Dossier Laborde-Line.
p.24 “the friend later explained”: ‘Déposition de Monsieur Jean Rigaud’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Guillin.
p.25 “memory was sacred to him”: ‘Déposition de Monsieur Jean Rigaud’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Guillin.
p.26 “imminent departure for Australia”: ‘Interrogatoire Définitif ’, 7 Aug 1920, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28.
p.26 “‘enjoying herself in the country’”: ‘Interrogatoire Définitif ’, 7 Aug 1920, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Guillin.
p.26 “forcing her out of his apartment”: ‘Audition de Monsieur Laborde-Line’, 19 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Laborde-Line.
p.26 “somewhere between France and Australia”: ‘Interrogatoire Définitif’, 7 Aug 1920, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Guillin.
Chapter 4: The Villa Tric
p.27 “bartender and cleaning woman”: ‘Déposition de Mme Audouard’, Le Havre, 1 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3019, Dossier Héon.
p.27 “have a good gossip”: Mme Dalouin letter to Bonin, 17 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3058, Dossier Héon.
p.27 “intermediary not involved”: Le Journal, 12 June 1915.
p.28 “apartment one late June or July day”: In his carnet Landru first recorded a meeting with Berthe at Rue de Rennes on 28 August 1915. However, she made at least one visit to The Lodge at Vernouillet, which he quit at the start of August. He therefore must have met her for the first time between 12 June, the date of his lonely hearts advert in Le Journal, and the end of July.
p.28 “explained to Mme Dalouin”: Mme Dalouin letter to Bonin, 17 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3058, Dossier Héon.
p.28 “take a chance with him”: Mme Dalouin letter to Bonin, 17 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3058, Dossier Héon.
p.28 “about Berthe’s ‘morality’”: Le Gaulois, 24 Oct 1919.
p.29 “she sailed for Tunis”: Testimony of Mme Millot, Journal des Débats, 14 Nov 1921.
p.29 “a new pair of shoes”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 16 May 1933.
p.29 “promised they could wed”: Statement by Marie Lacoste, 16 Dec 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Buisson.
p.29 “bearded, bowler-hatted monsieur”: Testimony of Léocadie Leffray, L’Echo de Paris, 15 Nov 1921.
p.30 “funds had been cleared”: Le Journal, 12 Nov 1921.
p.30 “know all about it by 10.00”: Le Petit Parisien, 10 Oct 1915.
p.31 “the cobbler unlocked the gates”: Interview with Pierre Vallet in report by Jules Hebbé, gendarme at Houdan, 16 March 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3291.
p.31 “toilet, but no bath”: Plan of the Villa Tric, May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3687.
p.31 “lived south of Paris”: ‘Audition de Monsieur Tric’, 17 May 1920, Paris Police Archives.
p.32 “noted in his carnet”: It was impossible to date Berthe’s visit to the Villa Tric more precisely because Landru grouped all his notes for December 1915 on the same page in his carnet.
p.32 “returned to Paris in the meantime”: Le Gaulois, 24 April 1919. In his memoir of the case, Brigadier Riboulet incorrectly stated that Landru bought the stove in Gambais in mid-December, on the same day that he leased the villa from Monsieur Tric in Melun, 90 kilometres away. See Le Matin, 16 May 1933.
p.32 “happily settled in Tunis”: L’Homme Libre, 19 Nov 1921.
p.32 “Berthe’s late daughter”: ‘Déposition de Mme Oger [sic]’, 20 Nov 1921, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Héon.
Chapter 5: Madame Sombrero
p.33 “parked outside the front gates”: Jean Monteilhet, witness statement, 6 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.33 “seeing what he was doing”: ‘Audition de Marie Bizeau’, 16 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3716.
p.33 “white buskin boots”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 18 May 1933.
p.33 “she had been with Monsieur Collomb”: Statement by Victorine Pellat in ‘Inspecteur Maury, Enquête générale’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.34 “Anna reluctantly agreed”: Statement by Victorine Pellat in ‘Inspecteur Maury, Enquête générale’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.34 “father of her little girl”: The police were unable to locate either the daughter or Monsieur Bernard. Riboulet, Le Matin, 18 May 1933.
p.34 “typing pool where she worked”: L’Echo d’Alger, 15 Nov 1921.
p.34 “her forthcoming marriage”: ‘Declaration de Mme Léone Gaujon’, 4 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3332, Dossier Collomb.
p.34 “less enthusiastic about it”: ‘Déclaration de Gaston Gaimond’, 4 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3331, Dossier Collomb.
p.35 “never read a book in her life”: ‘Déclaration de Mlle Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3223, Dossier Buisson.
p.35 “my sister can take him”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 22 May 1933.
p.36 “wasted his precious time”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 2 June 1933.
p.37 “also in uniform”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Brissot’, 18 March 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3594, Dossier Pascal; ‘Déclaration de Marcel Léglise’, 10 Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3568, Dossier Pascal.
p.37 “you old cow”: Anonymous postcard, undated, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3490, Dossier Pascal.
p.37 “a minor offence, possibly soliciting”: ‘Pascal, Anne-Marie’, Cours de Tribunaux, Toulon, 6 Nov 1912, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3583, Dossier Pascal. The note on the charge sheet is illegible. Annette paid a fine of 25 francs.
p.37 “in a blue jacket and grey, wide-brimmed hat”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.37 “10 rue de la Fraternité, Toulon, Var”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif’, p.259. Several newspapers later incorrectly reported that Annette wrote this note just before she disappeared.
p.37 “Iris matrimonial agency”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.38 “tailored, sombrero hat”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.38 “doorbell at Villa Stendhal”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.38 “right to love you as such”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.38 “10 rue de la Fraternité, Toulon”: “Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet”, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.39 “giving you a little kiss”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.39 “wondering what had happened to him”: “Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet”, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.39 “safe to come up”: “Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet”, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.39 “next morning at Villa Stendhal”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.39 “want to see me again”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.39 “give her some money”: “Déclaration de Mme Carbonnel”, 10 Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3570, Dossier Pascal.
p.39 “refused to listen to such nonsense”: ‘Déclaration de Mlle Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3223, Dossier Buisson.
p.40 “all noted in his carnet”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 19 May 1933.
p.40 “promised to pay her back soon”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Paulière Moreau, 6 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3341, Dossier Collomb.
p.40 “explained to a work friend”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 18 May 1933.
p.40 “feelings towards her family”: Statement by Victorine Pellat in ‘Inspecteur Maury, Enquête générale’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.40 “‘Frémyet’ would definitely be there”: Statement by Victorine Pellat, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.40 “decided she did not like him”: Statement by Victorine Pellat, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.41 “nest egg of 8,000 francs”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Paulière Moreau, 6 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3341, Dossier Collomb.
p.41 “as soon as she returned to Paris”: Statement by Victorine Pellat in ‘Inspecteur Maury, Enquête générale’, no date 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.41 “his return ticket, travelling alone”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 18 May 1933.
Chapter 6: Lulu
p.43 “wagging his finger at Marie-Jeanne”: ‘Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet’, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.43 “the little dressmaking workshop”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.43 “front-page essay on 9 March”: Maurice Barrès (1862–1923) was too old for active military service.
p.44 “homesick soldiers at the front”: Brigadier Riboulet report, ‘Filleuls de guerre de la disparue’, 24 Feb 1920, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 29, Dossier Jaume.
p.44 “bolting to Italy in 1914”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif’, pp.213–14, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772, ‘Déclaration de Léonie Barthélemy’, 31 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3483, Dossier Jaume.
p.44 “also disapproved of Louise”: Henri de Laval letter to Louise Jaume, 24 March 1915, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3394, Dossier Jaume.
p.44 “for no apparent reason”: ‘Audition de Paul Jaume’, 16 Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3419, Dossier Jaume.
p.44 “some time at the sister’s home”: ‘Déclaration de Léonie Barthélemy’, 31 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3483, Dossier Jaume.
p.44 “crossed the Italian border”: ‘Audition de Paul Jaume’, op.cit.
p.45 “seeking a divorce”: Louise’s delay in suing for divorce was not just because of her religious scruples. Under France’s 1908 divorce law, she had to prove that she and her husband had not slept together for three years. This may explain why Paul Jaume was so adamant that he and Louise slept in different beds.
p.45 “until their next meeting”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 25 May 1933.
p.45 “fortune teller in north-east Paris”: Andrée must have met Landru on the evening of 11 March because she quit her job as a nanny on 12 March and failed to make her agreed rendezvous with her mother on 13 March. See Riboulet, Le Matin, 19 May 1933; ‘Déclaration de Mme Collin [sic]’, 24 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 29, Dossier Babelay.
p.46 “Mme Colin later admitted”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Collin’, 24 April 1919.
p.46 “fetching her suitcase”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 21 May 1933; ‘Déclaration de Mme Collin’, 24 April 1919.
p.46 “she might be pregnant”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Collin’, 24 April 1919.
p.46 “her pretend uncle”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 21 May 1933.
p.46 “Petit Casino music theatre”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 21 May 1933.
p.46 “a soft holdall bag”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 21 May 1933.
p.47 “the other side of Gambais”: ‘Audition d’Émilien Lecoq’, 23 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2 856.
p.47 “note in his carnet”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 21 May 1933.
p.47 “victorious Franco-British offensive”: Le Journal, 17 April 1917.
p.48 “stolen them from an earlier fiancée”: Marie Lacoste letter to Commissioner Dautel, 18 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3168, Dossier Buisson.
p.48 “biscuits for the two of them”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.48 “around an ornamental pond”: ‘Audition de Fernande Segret’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3829.
p.48 “gives me a lot of trouble”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.49 “so look forward to giving you”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 30 May 1933.
p.49 “pile in his shed”: ‘Déposition de Mme Lucienne Labure’, 22 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3453, Dossier Jaume.
p.49 “near the Gare du Nord”: ‘Déposition de Louise Lhérault’, 18 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3445, Dossier Jaume.
p.49 “the happiness I desire”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 25 May 1933.
p.50 “his wife’s funeral costs”: ‘Déposition de Marie Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U769/3195, Dossier Buisson.
p.50 “did not mention the matter”: Marie Lacoste letter to Commissioner Dautel, 24 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/602.
p.51 “to sublet the property”: Marie Lacoste letter to Commissioner Dautel, 18 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U769/3168, Dossier Buisson.
p.51 “alone at the villa”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 23 May 1933.
p.51 “impossible to tell what they were”: ‘Déclaration de Marie Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U769/3195, Dossier Buisson.
p.51 “meddling younger sister”: ‘Audition de Marie Lacoste’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4695, Dossier Buisson; Riboulet, Le Matin, 23 May 1933.
p.52 “on a one-way ticket”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 23 May 1933.
Chapter 7: Sacré Coeur
p.53 “break off their engagement”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 25 May 1933.
p.53 “calling card slipped inside”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 20 May 1933; ‘Déposition de Mme Victorine Pellat’, 8 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3364, Dossier Collomb.
p.53 “enquiries about her disappearance”: ‘Déclaration de Gaston Gaimond’, 4 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3331, Dossier Collomb; Inspecteur Henry, ‘Enquête générale’, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.54 “Landru had pretended to Anna”: ‘Déposition de Mme Victorine Pellat’, 8 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3364, Dossier Collomb.
p.54 “received any response”: ‘Déposition de Mme Victorine Pellat’, 8 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3364, Dossier Collomb.
p.54 “or to write to us”: ‘Déposition de Mme Victorine Pellat’, 8 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3364, Dossier Collomb.
p.55 “believe that he had killed Célestine”: ‘Audition de Marie Lacoste’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3157, Dossier Buisson.
p.56 “obviously up to no good”: ‘Déclaration de Marie Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U769/3195, Dossier Buisson.
p.56 “hiring her own secretary”: ‘Déclaration de Marie Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U769/3195, Dossier Buisson.
p.56 “overnight stay by Fernande”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 24 May 1933.
p.56 “was working and could not come”: Interview with Marie Lacoste, Inspector Belin report, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4695.
p.57 “to remove her furniture”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Lucienne Labure’, 22 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3453, Dossier Jaume; Riboulet, Le Matin, 25 May 1933.
p.58 “the shop as soon as possible”: ‘Audition de Mlle Jeanne Lhérault’, 22 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3445, Dossier Jaume.
p.58 “on the landing itself ”: ‘Déclaration de Louise Lhérault’, 18 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3445, Dossier Jaume.
p.58 “it might still reach Louise”: ‘Déclaration de Louise Lhérault’, 18 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3445, Dossier Jaume.
p.58 “Louise’s forwarded correspondence”: ‘Audition de Mlle Jeanne Lhérault’, 22 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3445, Dossier Jaume.
p.59 “on the train home”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 31 May 1933.
p.59 “recently spent the night”: ‘Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet’, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.59 “name was ‘Lucien Guillet’”: ‘Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet’, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.60 “would take place in February”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 14 Jan 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/569.
p.60 “ticked her off half-jokingly”: ‘Déclaration de Marie-Jeanne Fauchet’, 24 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3560, Dossier Pascal.
p.61 “one can’t live on promises”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 3 April 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/571.
p.61 “before going to bed”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 3 Feb 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/577.
p.61 “make me doubt your sincerity”: Riboulet, 31 May 1933.
p.62 “other promising ventures in Brazil”: ‘Audition de Mlle Segret’, 12 April 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.62 “protection from the bombs”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 31 May 1933.
p.63 “we did not know what it was”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 21 March 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/569.
p.63 “I’ll keep you updated about everything”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 24 March 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/569.
p.63 “I would be even unhappier”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 24 March 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/569.
p.63 “her concierge recalled”: ‘Audition de Mme Joséphine Koestler’, 21 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3475, Dossier Pascal.
p.64 “luxurious modern taste”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 27 March 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2.
p.64 “dying of fear today”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, undated, March 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/570. The letter must have been written on 28 March because of references by Annette to earlier events.
p.64 “all the money I need”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 2 April 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/566.
p.64 “kiss to Marie-Jeanne”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 3 April 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/571.
p.64 “she told Louise”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 3 April 1918, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/571.
p.64 “green overcoat with fur trimming”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Carbonnel’, 10 Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3570, Dossier Pascal.
p.65 “10 rue de la Fraternité, Toulon, Var”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif ’, p.259.
p.65 “busy life one leads in Paris”: Annette Pascal letter to Louise Fauchet, 5 April 1918 [re-dated 19 April], Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/569.
p.65 “what has happened to me”: Landru removed this note from the envelope containing the original letter, re-dated 19 April, which Mme Fauchet eventually received.
p.65 “the garden for burial”: Dautel report on search of Villa Tric, 13 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3690.
Chapter 8: The Fatal List
p.67 “the night with her”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 31 May 1933.
p.67 “new automobile radiator”: Police report of search of 76 Rue de Rochechouart, 10 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3888.
p.67 “my thoughts are close to you”: Landru letter to Fernande Segret, quoted in Riboulet, Le Matin, 3 June 1933.
p.68 “her mother had caused her”: Le Journal, 23 Nov 1921.
p.68 “exit to my factory”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 1 June 1933.
p.68 “supposedly to his office”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 1 June 1933.
p.69 “Fernande could not hear them”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 1 June 1933.
p.69 “they got back to Paris”: ‘Audition de Jeanne Falque’, 2 June 1919, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.70 “he had negotiated”: Le Journal, 3 Nov 1921.
p.70 “also rented space there”: ‘Audition de Romain Gamrat’, 26 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3606.
p.70 “of 26 per cent”: ‘Audition de Jeanne Falque’, 2 June 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.70 “with no means to pay”: ‘Déclaration de Mlle Yvonne Le Gallo’, 26 March 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3657, Dossier Marchadier.
p.71 “the sale of her furniture”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif’, pp.261–2, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772/unnumbered.
p.71 “at least one occasion”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif ’, p.262, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772/ unnumbered.
p.71 “house in the country”: Le Petit Parisien, 22 Nov 1921.
p.71 “‘engagements’ with other messieurs”: Le Petit Parisien, 22 Nov 1921.
p.71 “cash from someone else”: ‘Audition de Mme Jeanne Falque’, 2 June 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.71 “to President Raymond Poincaré”: Le Gaulois, 2 Jan 1919.
p.72 “live in the countryside”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 27 May 1933.
p.72 “small tongs, iron grate”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 27 May 1933.
p.72 “her future country home”: Le Petit Parisien, 22 Nov 1921.
p.72 “acted as the villa’s janitor”: Inspector Belin report, 23 Jan 1920, interview with Pierre Vallet, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/841.
p.72 “1,800 francs in cash”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 27 May 1933.
p.72 “desolate house”: Another of Marie-Thérèse’s prostitute friends saw her off at the station and recalled this scene. ‘Déposition de Marguerite Delcourt’, 28 March 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3656, Dossier Marchadier.
p.73 “I had kept the memory”: Landru personal memoir, September 1919, in ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, June 1920, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.73 “employer’s house near the Rue du Rivoli”: Marie Lacoste statement to police, 13 Feb 1919, Yvelines Archive, Carton 2U769/3143, Dossier Buisson.
p.74 “clear her furniture”: Marie Lacoste statement to police, 13 Feb 1919, Yvelines Archive, Carton 2U769/3143, Dossier Buisson.
p.75 “where Gambais was located”: Eugène Moreau, civil complaint, 2 Feb 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3286, Dossier Collomb.
p.75 “from Moreau’s lawsuit”: Marie Lacoste, civil complaint, 3 Feb 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3141, Dossier Buisson.
p.75 “some money to go away”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 1 June 1933.
p.75 “she recalled tartly”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 1 June 1933.
p.75 “nature of her business”: ‘Audition de Mme Jeanne Falque’, 2 June 1919, ‘Audition de Mlle Segret’, 12 April 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.76 “might well be a spy”: Report by Jules Hebbé, 16 March 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3291, Dossier Collomb. ‘Enquête à Gambais’, Procès-Verbal de la Gendarmerie de Houdan, 22 March 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.76 “dubious tenant at the Villa Tric”: Report by Inspector Belin, 12 April 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.77 “by a young woman”: ‘Audition de Marie Lacoste’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3157, Dossier Buisson; ‘Déclaration de Marie Lacoste’, 16 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U769/3195, Dossier Buisson.
p.77 “Lucien Guillet, 76 Rue de Rochechouart”: Belin’s version of this part of the story was corroborated by Marie Lacoste’s testimony.
p.77 “three weeks to make the arrest”: Le Matin, 18 Nov 1935.
p.77 “introduced himself as Lucien Guillet”: ‘Rapport de l’Inspecteur Deslogères’, 4 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/5125.
p.78 “before about 11.30 am”: Report by Inspector Belin, 12 April 1919, Paris Police Archives; Report by Inspector Belin, 26 March 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3662.
p.78 “stark naked on the floor”: Dennis Bardens, The Ladykiller (1972), p.83.
p.78 “to empty his pockets”: ‘Renseignements sur Landru’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3855.
Chapter 9: The Enigma of Gambais
p.81 “answering lonely hearts adverts”: ‘Renseignements sur Landru’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3855.
p.81 “Fernande along as a witness”: ‘Renseignements sur Landru’, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3855.
p.82 “fell ill with food poisoning”: ‘Audition de Fernande Segret, 12 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3829.
p.83 “adjoining the kitchen”: Dautel report on search of Villa Tric, 13 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3690.
p.83 “to put them to death”: Le Siècle, 25 Nov 1921.
p.83 “prosecutor’s office by noon”: Dautel report on search of Villa Tric, 13 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3690.
p.84 “‘don’t follow up’, and so on”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 29 May 1933.
p.85 “in trouble with the law”: ‘Audition de Gabriel Grimm’, 17 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 30, Dossier Général.
p.85 “any headway with Landru”: Le Journal, 15 April 1919.
p.86 “my respectful assurances”: Landru to Moro, undated note, personal collection of Dominique de Moro Giafferri, reproduced in Dominique Lanzalavi, Vincent de Moro Giafferri (Ajaccio, 2011), p.77.
Chapter 10: Why Would I Have Killed Them?
p.87 “born on that day”: G. Sinclair, ‘Comment ils se sont découverts’, France-Soir, undated article, personal collection of Dominique de Moro Giafferri.
p.87 “a taste for fighting duels”: Moro fought two duels in 1909 and 1910, against a Corsican politician and a regional newspaper editor, whom he accused respectively of insulting him and his mother’s family. He lost the first and abandoned the second, with no one seriously injured. Le Journal, 9 July 1909, Lanzalavi, Vincent de Moro Giafferri (Ajaccio, 2011), p.77.
p.88 “on the street at 2.30 pm”: Le Journal, 7 March 1912. Dieudonné was living in Paris in December 1911 but had gone to Nancy to work for a contractor. The prosecution argued that when he finished the job he returned to Paris, shot the bank messenger on 21 December, and then caught a train to Nancy in time to meet his friend for a drink at about 2.30 pm.
p.88 “she informed the press defiantly”: Le Journal, 8 March 1912.
p.89 “an astonishing, prodigious man”: Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013), p.251.
p.89 “acquisition of the mass circulation daily Le Journal”: Humbert was acquitted in May 1919. Humbert’s friends accused the army of inventing the charges in revenge for a series of articles in Le Journal in 1916 that deplored the state of France’s defences.
p.90 “‘subsidence’ in the cellar”: ‘Visite domiciliares: Villa des Lodges [sic] à Vernouillet’, 19 April 1919, Paris Police Archives. Le Gaulois, 14 May 1919.
p.90 “yielded nothing of interest”: Some bone fragments also examined by the laboratory were entirely of animal origin. ‘Vernouillet, Examen des Os: Rapport Médico-Légal’, 5 July 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4875.
p.90 “she remarked darkly”: ‘Déclaration de Mme Picque’, 15 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.90 “no reason to enquire further”: Dautel interview with Émile Mercier, 15 April 1919, Paris Police Archives.
p.91 “we were not particularly worried”: Le Journal, 16 April 1919.
p.91 “I was a mother”: Mme Fauchet letter to Bonin, 18 April 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 770/3542, Dossier Pascal.
p.91 “a fantasist who loved change”: ‘Enquête Générale’, 14 June 1919, statement of Mme Colin, 24 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 29, Dossier Babelay.
p.92 “pleading pressure of work”: Le Journal, 15 April 1919.
p.92 “he immediately rectified”: Le Matin, 24 Nov 1921.
p.92 “putting Riboulet in his place”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 3 May 1933.
p.93 “Lombroso [an Italian criminologist]”: Le Journal, 28 April 1919. These photographs were later incorrectly described as showing Landru arriving at the court in Versailles during his trial in November 1921.
p.93 “missing women so far identified”: By 27 April 1919, the police had identified nine of the ten women on the list in Landru’s notebook. The tenth, Thérèse Laborde-Line, codenamed “Brésil”, was identified in May 1919.
p.93 “you will find them”: Reconstruction of Landru’s interrogations on 27 April 1919 from Le Journal, Le Petit Parisien, 28 April 1919.
p.94 “not yet received a reply”: La Presse, 27 April 1919.
p.95 “nothing more out of Landru”: Le Journal, 28 April 1919.
p.95 “initial interview with Landru”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 30 April 1919.
p.95 “staring perfectly well”: Navières, ‘L’affaire Landru’.
p.95 “to ‘guarantee’ Landru’s rights”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 30 April 1919. The same newspaper reported that Landru had been left at the Santé because he was meeting his lawyer.
p.96 “department of Seine-et-Oise”: Le Figaro, 30 April 1919.
p.96 “Paris police laboratory he headed”: For a dissection of Spilsbury’s strengths and flaws, see Jane Robins, The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath (London, 2010).
p.96 “from the wall of the oven”: Gaston Bayle, a forensic chemist in the search team, told the press it was “very likely” that the blood stain was of human origin. Le Journal, 30 April 1919.
p.97 “as proved by the four roots”: Le Journal, 30 April 1919. The newspaper mistakenly reported that more charred bits of haberdashery were found in the other locked shed.
p.97 “the sexton stated authoritatively”: Le Journal, Le Gaulois, 30 April 1919.
p.97 “in less than three days”: Le Gaulois, 30 April 1919.
Chapter 11: I Will Tell You Something Horrible
p.99 “People can judge for themselves”: Le Journal, 21 May 1919.
p.99 “end of the Franco-Prussian War”: In police and judicial documents, Marie-Catherine’s maiden name was sometimes also spelt ‘Remy’, without an accent.
p.100 “did not reveal to Le Journal”: Marie-Catherine told the police that she only got pregnant because Landru lied to her about his true age, implying that she did not realise he was about to perform his military service. ‘Audition de Mme Landru’, 7 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 30, Dossier Général.
p.100 “prey on the new recruits”: The Ministry of War prosecuted Desclaves for his attack on the army but a civilian jury acquitted him.
p.100 “a skirt chaser”: ‘Audition de Mme Landru’, 7 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 30, Dossier Général.
p.101 “the Tuileries gardens”: ‘Salon du Cycle et de l’Automobile (Palais des Machines)’, La Justice, 17 Nov 1898.
p.101 “to manufacture the motorcycle”: Le Journal, 31 May 1904.
p.101 “in custody at the Santé”: L’Echo de Paris, 9 Nov 1921.
p.101 “an ambivalent diagnosis”: Information on Vallon from http://psychiatrie.histoire.free.fr/pers/bio/vallon.htm
p.101 “had not yet crossed them”: Le Gaulois, 22 Aug 1919.
p.101 “treated leniently by the court”: A fourth psychiatrist, Dr Dubuisson, examined Landru in 1906. Dubuisson concluded that Landru was “unbalanced” and in an “unhealthy state which, while not madness, was no longer normal”. Le Gaulois, 22 Aug 1919, quoting Dubuisson’s report.
p.102 “any means for his projects”: Le Journal, 31 May 1904.
p.102 “eastern edge of the Bois de Boulogne”: Police report on the suicide of Julien Alexandre Sylvain Landru, 23 April 1912, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 771/4818. The prosecution at Landru’s trial misdated the suicide as occurring in August 1912.
p.102 “Marie-Catherine told the police”: ‘Audition de Mme Landru’, 7 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 30, Dossier Général. The police investigation of Julien Landru’s later life and suicide was cursory. In the 1890s, Julien Landru got a manual job at a Paris publisher. He retired around 1905, when he and his wife moved to Agen, southern France, to live with their daughter and son-in-law. Julien’s wife died in 1910, when he returned to Paris to live with Marie-Catherine and her children in an apartment on Rue Blomet.
p.102 “Marie-Catherine and her children, not him”: ‘Affaire Cuchet. Instruction’, 13 Aug 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.102 “‘God, will he not have pity?’”: Le Journal, 21 May 1919.
p.103 “under a false name”: Police report on movements of Landru family, 1914–15, 3 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 1373W2/788.
p.103 “‘gardening work’ at The Lodge”: ‘Déclaration de Charles Landru’, 14 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.103 “the false name ‘Frémyet’”: ‘Instruction’, 13 Aug 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.103 “belonged to Jeanne Cuchet”: ‘Commission Rogatoire’, 18 Oct 1915, Pontoise, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet. ‘Bulletin’, 7 April 1916, Paris, ‘Faux en écriture authentique et publique, 1915’, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4862.
p.103 “disappearance of the typist Anna Collomb”: In August 1916, Maurice was released early from the Cherche-Midi military prison in Paris. He was sent to the Somme, along with many other prisoners used as emergency reinforcements.
p.103 “a hotel south of Lyon”: ‘Declaration de Mme Léone Gaujon’, 4 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3332, Dossier Collomb.
p.103 “she was in southern France”: ‘Audition de Charles Landru’, 4 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3342, Dossier Collomb.
p.103 “forest near the village”: ‘Audition de Marie Landru’, 6 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3241, Dossier Buisson.
p.103 “withdraw Célestine’s savings”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 24 May 1933.
p.104 “forge Louise’s signature”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 24 May 1933.
p.104 “Annette Pascal and Marie-Thérèse Marchadier”: ‘Déclaration de Charles Landru’, 14 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013). Charles originally said he helped move four of the women’s possessions and then increased the number to five. The correct figure was seven.
p.104 “formal interrogation by Bonin”: Journal des Débats, 28 May 1919.
p.105 “his eyes filled with tears”: Le Journal, 28 May 1919.
p.105 “Bonin asked Landru”: After each interrogation with Landru, most or all of the transcript was leaked to the press. I have principally used the following newspapers to reconstruct dialogue: Le Journal, Le Petit Parisien, Le Gaulois, Le Matin, Le Figaro.
p.106 “first intervention in the case”: Le Journal, 28 May 1919.
p.106 “this insensibilité, is significant”: Le Journal, 28 May 1919.
p.106 “about 100,000 francs”: Le Journal, 16 April 1919; ‘Disparition de Mme Cuchet et de son fils’, Georges Friedman interview, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.107 “(literally ‘an affluence’)”: ‘Audition de Mme Friedman’, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.107 “informed about her affairs”: ‘Rapport de l’Inspecteur de Police Peretti’, 2 July 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.107 “‘Fashionable House’ shirt factory”: ‘Rapport de l’Inspecteur de Police Brandenburger’, undated, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.107 “forced to borrow 1,000 francs”: ‘Rapport de l’Inspecteur de Police Peretti’, 2 July 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet; ‘Déclaration de Mme Bazire’, 28 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2613, Dossier Cuchet.
p.107 “had ‘very few savings’.”: ‘Déclaration d’Albert Folvary’, 26 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2605, Dossier Cuchet.
p.107 “most successful fraud of his career”: ‘Liste d’escroquéries 1913– 1914’, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4839. At Landru’s trial, the prosecution reduced the total sum to just below 30,000 francs, without explanation.
p.107 “Marie-Catherine and her children”: According to Marie-Catherine, Landru also took most of his late father’s legacy when he fled Malakoff in April 1914, leaving her 500 francs. ‘Affaire Cuchet. Instruction’, 13 Aug 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.108 “acted as Landru’s minder”: ‘L’Affaire Landru’, Auguste Navières du Treuil, Private Memoir, Personal Collection of Dominique de Moro Giafferri.
p.108 “his customary silence”: Le Figaro, 24 July 1919.
p.108 “‘Do you hear me – guillotined!’”: ‘L’Affaire Landru’, Auguste Navières du Treuil.
p.108 “as poor old Landru, monsieur le juge’”: ‘L’Affaire Landru’, Auguste Navières du Treuil.
p.108 “handed down to his father”: Le Gaulois, 3 June 1919, Journal des Débats, 4 June 1919.
p.108 “suddenly got his memory back”: Maurice Landru interview, 27 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2270/3317, Dossier Collomb.
p.109 “the proof of my crimes”: Le Gaulois, 7 Aug 1919.
p.109 “she is sorry”: Le Journal, 14 Aug 1919.
p.110 “making a fool of me”: Le Gaulois, 21 Aug 1919.
p.110 “a mother to her”: Louise Fauchet letter to Bonin, 9 June 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3547, Dossier Pascal.
p.111 “Marie-Jeanne signed off helpfully”: Marie-Jeanne Fauchet letter to Bonin, no date, Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3547, Dossier Pascal.
p.111 “thoughts and feelings expressed”: Madame Zeegers letter to Bonin, 9 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/3905.
p.111 “completely unaware of this affair”: Mlle Dutru letter to Bonin, 24 Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4016.
p.111 “has she been identified?”: Mme Benoist letter to Bonin, 22 July 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/unnumbered.
p.111 “Mme Romelot began circuitously”: Anseline Romelot letter to Monsieur Roux, Versailles, 19 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772/5291.
Chapter 12: Conscience Recoils Before Such a Monster
p.113 “another psychiatric examination”: Le Gaulois, 29 Aug 1919.
p.113 “‘quite a lot of pain’”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, 25 June 1920, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.114 “the purpose of his assignment”: ‘Audition de Charles Landru’, 4 Nov 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3342, Dossier Collomb.
p.115 “principal career at the Bar”: Moro lost his seat in 1928.
p.115 “but only rarely”: ‘Audition de Mme Landru’, 12 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4823.
p.115 “brought to his office by the police”: ‘Landru, née Rémy, Marie-Cathérine, Procès-Verbal de première comparution’, 18 Dec 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U770/3350, Dossier Collomb.
p.116 “‘What are they guilty of and why?’”: La Presse, 19 Dec 1919.
p.116 “woods near the village”: ‘Audition de Marie Landru’, 6 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3241, Dossier Buisson.
p.116 “Is that correct?’”: ‘Audition de Mme Landru’, 10 Jan 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3249, Dossier Buisson.
p.116 “an unconscious instrument”: Le Gaulois, 11 Jan 1920.
p.116 “faking Célestine’s signature”: Marie-Catherine’s lawyer was Moro’s friend and fellow Corsican César Campinchi (1882–1941), another leading defence barrister.
p.116 “obey her husband”: ‘Audition de Mme Landru’, 17 Feb 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/3250, Dossier Buisson.
p.117 “who had given them to me”: ‘Interrogation de Maurice Landru’, 13 March 1920, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.117 “‘au moment de la chasse’”: “Interrogatoire de la femme Landru”, 3 June 1920, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.117 “vanished at the villa”: Based on Landru’s notes in his carnet, the police concluded that Célestine Buisson had last been alive at the villa on the previous day, Friday, 31 August. At 10.15 on the morning of 1 September, Landru noted the time in his carnet. He next noted catching a train from Houdan to Paris later on the same day. The family may have come from Ézy-sur-Eure, 24 kilometres north-west of Gambais, where they had stayed in late 1914 and early 1915. A local woman recalled seeing Marie-Catherine and her daughters in Ézy in August 1917. ‘Audition de Louise Lecomte’, 10 Oct 1919, Yvelines Archives, 2U771/4802.
p.117 “the state of the investigation”: Le Gaulois, 13 July 1920.
p.118 “his shoes all day and night”: Le Journal, 13 July 1920.
p.118 “47 bits of teeth”: ‘Gambais, Examen des Os: Rapport Médico-Légal’, 19 July 1920, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/4898.
p.118 “in the garden”: ‘Gambais, Examen des Os’, p.2, quoting from Bonin, ‘Ordonnance’ regarding examination of bone debris, 12 May 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U771/unnumbered, directly before 2U771/4877.
p.118 “(a point that the experts also did not make clear)”: The report did not explicitly mention the discovery of any human bones or other human remains in the oven, which would have been compelling evidence that Landru had burnt some or all of his victims’ corpses. However, the report did not refute the false rumour that part of a human toe bone had been recovered from the oven. Le Figaro, 30 April 1919.
p.118 “original corpses had been female”: The female pelvis is larger and wider than a male pelvis.
p.119 “Landru’s ‘mental state’”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, 25 June 1920, Paris Police Archives, reproduced in Landru: 6h 10 Temps Clair, Les Pièces du Dossier (Paris, 2013).
p.119 “the frontiers of madness”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, pp.4–5.
p.119 “baby son in 1867”: The loss of this baby boy was probably the reason why Landru’s parents gave him the middle name ‘Désiré’, meaning ‘Desired’.
p.119 “she was highly strung”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, p.3.
p.119 “dizzy spells and disturbed vision”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, pp. 6–7.
p.120 “its richness and variety”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, p.8.
p.120 “the patriarchal principle”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, p11.
p.120 “my ugly head”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, p.12.
p.120 “responsible for his acts”: ‘Examen de Landru au point de vue mental’, p.14.
p.121 “from the capital to Nancy”: Le Journal, 5 Aug 1920.
p.121 “the case against Landru”: I have been unable to identify Gazier’s first name.
p.121 “any suggestion of madness”: Réquisitoire Définitif, p.3, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772.
p.121 “‘escapes us’, Gazier noted tersely”: Réquisitoire Définitif, p.162, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772.
p.122 “one’s calling card at the préfecture”: Le Gaulois, 3 Feb 1921.
p.123 “prisoners awaiting execution”: Le Gaulois, 15 June 1921.
p.123 “he repeatedly adjusted”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 24 Oct 1919.
p.123 “stronger pair was brought for him”: Le Figaro, 28 Sept 1921.
p.123 “to keep up his strength”: L’Homme Libre, Le Rappel, 27 Oct 1921, Le Gaulois, 29 Oct 1921, Le Temps, 30, 31 Oct 1921.
p.123 “leaving the shadow of a trace”: Le Gaulois, 5 Nov 1921.
p.123 “keep an open mind”: L’Echo d’Alger, 6 Nov 1921.
p.124 “everything will be resolved”: L’Echo d’Alger, 6 Nov 1921.
Chapter 13: Chivalry No Longer Exists
p.127 “direct him to his bench”: Le Petit Parisien, 8 Nov 1921.
p.127 “concealed in the bales”: Journal des Débats, 9 Nov 1921. The cobbler received a two-year jail sentence.
p.127 “a profile of Landru”: Colette’s second husband, Henry de Jouvenel, was the editor of Le Matin.
p.127 “little birds gathered by the door”: L’Excelsior, 8 Nov 1921.
p.128 “observe him discreetly”: Journal des Débats, 9 Nov 1921.
p.128 “one reporter noted unkindly”: L’Excelsior, 8 Nov 1921.
p.128 “as a personal souvenir”: Godefroy’s press cuttings are now held by the departmental archives for Yvelines.
p.129 “for the overnight editions”: Le Populaire, 8 Nov 1921. The telephones were rented by the newspapers at a rate of 100 francs per day.
p.129 “his mind seemingly elsewhere”: L’Excelsior, 8 Nov 1921.
p.129 “to Moro during the trial”: Moro had also brought two assistant lawyers for this first day: Jean Baux, a close friend of Navières, and Marcel Kahn. Baux or Kahn attended most of the trial’s sessions.
p.129 “an upright free man”: Article 312, Code d’Instruction Criminelle (1808).
p.129 “jostling to take his picture”: L’Ouest- Éclair, 8 Nov 1921.
p.130 “reading his enormous dossier”: Action Française, 8 Nov 1921.
p.130 “snoring loudly”: Le Figaro, 8 Nov 1921. The newspaper’s cartoonist sketched Colette as she dozed.
p.130 “he must know by heart”: Le Figaro, 8 Nov 1921.
p.130 “sententious phrases and melodramatic paragraphs”: Le Journal, 8 Nov 1921.
p.130 “journalists covering the trial”: On at least one occasion, a juror asked a reporter on a train for his opinion about whether Landru was guilty. Le Siècle, 13 Nov 1921.
p.130 “tailor’s dummy in a shop window”: Le Matin, 8 Nov 1921.
p.131 “the hearing to establish it”: Le Gaulois, 8 Nov 1921.
p.132 “should begin without him”: Le Radical, 9 Nov 1921.
p.132 “examination of the defendant”: L’Echo de Paris, 9 Nov 1921.
p.132 “which were always the same”: Le Radical, 9 Nov 1921.
p.132 “who had a daughter”: Le Petit Parisien, 9 Nov 1921.
p.133 “easy to get down to business”: Le Gaulois, 9 Nov 1921.
p.133 “nervously took the oath”: L’Excelsior, 9 Nov 1921.
p.134 “worthy of her own”: Le Petit Parisien, 9 Nov 1921.
p.134 “cash them in at a bank”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif’, pp.13–14, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772.
p.134 “‘atoned’ for his ‘error’”: Le Gaulois, 9 Nov 1921.
p.135 “uproar around the court was intense”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 8 Nov 1921.
Chapter 14: Philomène’s Dream
p.137 “the notebook until 1915”: L’Homme Libre, 10 Nov 1921.
p.137 “the jurors’ common sense”: L’Echo de Paris, 10 Nov 1921.
p.138 “poor fist of defending himself ”: Le Petit Parisien, 10 Nov 1921.
p.138 “deep silence around the court”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 10 Nov 1921.
p.139 “lengthen these exchanges”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 10 Nov 1921.
p.139 “his mother’s murder”: Requisitoire Définitif, pp.2–3, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772/unnumbered.
p.139 “with such eagerness, Landru said severely”: L’Echo de Paris, 10 Nov 1921, Le Temps, 11 Nov 1921.
p.139 “autumn of 1914”: L’Homme Libre, 10 Nov 1921.
p.139 “after her husband’s death”: Le Petit Parisien, 10 Nov 1921.
p.139 “a modest nest egg”: L’Humanité, 10 Nov 1921.
p.140 “live with her fiancé”: Le Petit Parisien, 10 Nov 1921.
p.140 “to assure his future”: Le Petit Parisien, 10 Nov 1921.
p.140 “on account of André”: Réquisitoire Définitif, p.33, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772.
p.140 “his stiff white collar”: Le Petit Journal, 10 Nov 1921.
p.140 “break off her engagement”: “Disparition de Mme Cuchet et de son fils”, Georges Friedman interview, 16 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet; Le Journal, 16 April 1919.
p.141 “2–3 August at the villa”: Statement of Mme Jeanne Hardy, Gouvieux, 1 Aug 1919, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U 769/2659.
p.141 “from under her bonnet at the court”: Le Petit Parisien, 10 Nov 1921.
p.141 “Philomène recalled”: Le Petit Journal, 10 Nov 1921.
p.142 “the impression I had killed your sister”: Le Journal, 10 Nov 1921.
p.142 “She had a heart, my sister”: Le Gaulois, 10 Nov 1921.
Chapter 15: Her Private Life Does Not Concern Me
p.143 “make the murder counts stick”: Le Journal, 10 Nov 1921.
p.144 “which he quickly stifles”: Le Populaire, 9 Nov 1921. The commentator was the leading barrister Maurice Délépine (1883–1960).
p.144 “disarms his adversary”: Journal des Débats, 9 Nov 1921.
p.144 “burst out laughing”: L’Intransigeant, 8 Nov 1921.
p.144 “red and yellow dossiers”: Le Journal, 11 Nov 1921.
p.144 “had been wiped out”: Le Populaire, 11 Nov 1921.
p.144 “might have been my daughters”: Le Gaulois, 11 Nov 1921.
p.144 “they were made of gold”: Le Gaulois, 11 Nov 1921.
p.145 “we knew each other”: Le Gaulois, 11 Nov 1921.
p.145 “probably from engine failure”: “Maxime Henri Morin, classe 1916”, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U769/2621, Dossier Cuchet.
p.146 “Landru explained”: Le Journal, 11 Nov 1921.
p.146 “this little lie proves nothing”: Le Journal, 11 Nov 1921.
p.146 “matters beyond my station”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 11 Nov 1921.
p.146 “what became of them next”: Le Gaulois, 11 Nov 1921.
p.146 “in the back garden?”: The neighbour could not identify the two women she saw picking flowers at The Lodge in the summer of 1915. ‘Déposition de Mme Picque’, 15 April 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Cuchet.
p.147 “Le Populaire remarked unpleasantly”: Le Populaire, 11 Nov 1921.
p.147 “the judge’s intervention”: L’Ouest-Éclair, 11 Nov 1921.
p.147 “between her and his wife”: Le Petit Journal, 11 Nov 1921.
p.147 “reply to his last letter”: ‘Audition de Monsieur Laborde-Line’, 19 May 1919, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Laborde-Line.
p.148 “the hearing ended at 5.25 pm”: Le Rappel, 11 Nov 1921.
p.148 “delivers a poor speech”: Le Journal, 12 Nov 1921.
p.148 “to be indulgent”: La Justice, 11 Nov 1921.
p.148 “more deserving of pity than contempt”: Le Journal, 12 Nov 1921.
p.149 “just the one head to offer you”: Le Gaulois, 12 Nov 1921.
p.150 “savings to her fiancé”: Le Journal, 12 Nov 1921.
p.150 “two or three steps beneath a canopy”: Le Gaulois, 12 Nov 1921.
p.150 “Landru allegedly killed her”: Le Gaulois, 12 Nov 1921.
p.151 “Le Gaulois remarked”: Le Gaulois, 13 Nov 1921.
p.151 “the theatre of his exploits”: Le Journal, 13 Nov 1921.
p.151 “better sight of the defendant”: Le Journal, 13 Nov 1921.
p.151 “reasons you will understand”: Le Journal, 13 Nov 1921.
p.152 “struck by her encounter”: Le Siècle, 14 Nov 1921.
p.153 “her first communion”: Le Petit Parisien, 13 Nov 1921.
p.153 “did not worry me at all”: Le Petit Parisien, 13 Nov 1921.
p.153 “Mme Héon’s furniture, that’s all”: Le Journal, 13 Nov 1921.
p.154 “an indeterminate shadow”: Le Journal, 13 Nov 1921.
Chapter 16: You Accuse Me, You Prove It
p.155 “It would be superb”: Le Siècle, 15 Nov 1921.
p.155 “dripped into the fire”: Le Journal, 13 Jan 1921.
p.155 “soon be proclaimed”: Le Petit Journal, 14 Nov 1921.
p.156 “about the little girl”: ‘Réquisitoire Définitif ’, p.137, Yvelines Archives, Carton 2U772; Anna Collomb, ‘Enquête Générale’, undated, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.156 “the girl’s probable father’: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.156 “lied about her age”: Le Petit Parisien, 15 Nov 1921.
p.156 “on public holidays”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.157 “would have been impolite”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.157 “a singular interpretation”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.158 “the bank documents”: Godefroy was wrong. Landru drained all of Anna’s savings with her written consent before she disappeared.
p.158 “obedience to her husband”: La Lanterne, 15 Nov 1921.
p.158 “from Marie-Angélique’s photograph”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.158 “messieurs les jurés”: Le Temps, 16 Nov 1921.
p.159 “fiancées that they can’t find”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.159 “the picture was deliberately sexual”: Le Petit Parisien, 15 Nov 1921.
p.159 “under Landru’s influence”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.159 “tenderest of relations with her”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.160 “was brought for her”: Le Petit Journal, 15 Nov 1921.
p.160 “her fiancé owed her money”: Le Journal, 15 Nov 1921. Mme Moreau said “before Christmas” but it is clear from the context that she meant 25 December.
p.160 “his refugee’s allowance”: Le Figaro, 15 Nov 1921. This was a pointless lie by Landru, who never claimed any refugee’s allowance from Lille.
p.160 “murdered on 26 or 27 December”: Le Petit Parisien, 15 Nov 1921.
p.160 “their baby girl Anna”: ‘État-Civil de Mme Collomb’, Paris Police Archives, Carton JA 28, Dossier Collomb.
p.160 “Mme Leffray shouted”: L’Humanité, 15 Nov 1921.
p.161 “the correspondent from L’Humanité lamented”: L’Humanité, 15 Nov 1921.
p.161 “mistake her profession very easily”: Le Journal, 16 Nov 1921.
p.161 “comfort her with kind words”: Le Journal, 16 Nov 1921.
p.161 “the countryside delighted her”: Le Petit Parisien, 16 Nov 1921.
p.162 “own documents to me”: Le Journal, 16 Nov 1921.
p.162 “gave a start”: Le Petit Journal, 16 Nov 1921.
p.162 “not unconnected with her disappearance”: Le Journal, 16 Nov 1921.
p.163 “‘I’m looking forward to it,’”: Le Journal, L’Excelsior, 16 Nov 1921.
p.163 “thrown herself into the Seine”: Riboulet, Le Matin, 21 May 1933.
p.163 “my daughter is no more!”: Le Petit Parisien, 16 Nov 1921.
p.164 “a good heart and deserved pity”: Le Petit Parisien, 16 Nov 1921.
p.164 “to keep on holding Landru’s eye”: Le Gaulois, 16 Nov 1921.