Landru's Secret

by Landru's Secret- The Deadly Seductions of France's Lonely Hearts Serial Killer (retail) (epub)

  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 lo
t 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, Carto
n 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.