Henri Désiré Landru

Henri Désiré Landru, born on April twelfth, eighteen sixty-nine, was a notorious French serial killer, often referred to as the Bluebeard of Gambais. His criminal activities spanned from December nineteen fourteen to January nineteen nineteen, during which he targeted lonely war widows, seducing them through newspaper advertisements. Landru's charm and deceit led to the defrauding of these women, ultimately resulting in their tragic demise. He is confirmed to have murdered at least ten women and the teenage son of his first victim, disposing of their bodies by incinerating them in his stove.

Landru's heinous acts took place primarily at a house in Vernouillet and later at an isolated villa in Gambais, near Paris. The true extent of his crimes remains shrouded in mystery, as police uncovered correspondence with two hundred eighty-three women, of whom seventy-two were never located. His case became a media sensation in the aftermath of World War I, capturing the public's imagination and leading to his eventual arrest on April twelfth, nineteen nineteen, at an apartment near Paris's Gare du Nord, where he lived with his twenty-four-year-old mistress, Fernande Segret.

In December nineteen nineteen, Landru's wife, Marie-Catherine, and his eldest son, Maurice, were arrested on suspicion of complicity in his crimes. However, both denied any involvement, and Marie-Catherine was released for health reasons in July nineteen twenty. Maurice was also released on the same day due to insufficient evidence against him.

Landru's trial in November nineteen twenty-one at Versailles attracted significant public attention, drawing celebrities such as Colette and Maurice Chevalier. Despite maintaining his innocence and the absence of bodies, he was found guilty of eleven murders on November thirtieth, nineteen twenty-one, largely due to his meticulous notebooks and circumstantial evidence. He met his end by guillotine on February twenty-fifth, nineteen twenty-two, leaving behind a legacy as one of France's most infamous murderers, inspiring works such as Charlie Chaplin's film Monsieur Verdoux.