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Bluebeard of Gambais -

Just before dawn on February 25, 1922, a man known as Bluebeard of Gambais was executed by guillotine outside the gates of Prison Saint-Pierre in Versailles, near Paris.

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Public execution -

His execution by beheading was the first time in history that such an event had been photographed, and it ended the life of one of France's most notorious serial killers. But why was he called the Bluebeard of Gambais? For the answer, we must turn back the pages of time to late 17th-century France and to an author named Charles Perrault.

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Charles Perrault (1628–1703) -

In 1697 Histoires ou contes du temps passé was published, a collection of literary fairy tales written by Charles Perrault and better known in English as 'The Tales of Mother Goose.'

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A sinister tale -

Among the fairy tales assembled in the edition were Perrault's versions of such classics as 'The Sleeping Beauty,' 'Little Red Riding Hood,' and 'Puss in Boots.' Also included was a much darker, more sinister tale about a wealthy and powerful nobleman called Bluebeard.

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A womanizer whose wives have disappeared -

Bluebeard, so named for his ink-blue whiskers, is a consummate womanizer. He's been married six times to beautiful women. All, however, have mysteriously vanished.

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Wife number seven -

Seeking a seventh bride, Bluebeard visits a neighbor and captivates his youngest daughter with charm and charisma. He wins her hand.

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A place in the country -

The young bride goes to live with Bluebeard in his opulent castle, set in the remote countryside.

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Keys to the castle -

One morning, Bluebeard announces that he must leave on a business trip and hands the keys to the castle over to his wife.

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What's downstairs? -

The keys open all the doors in the castle. The rooms contain riches. But Bluebeard forbids his wife to venture downstairs, where one key will unlock a secret underground chamber.

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Temptation -

With her husband away, the lonely wife invites her sister, Anne, and her friends and cousins over for a party. They rifle through Bluebeard's chests searching for gold and silver. Meanwhile, the wife is tempted by what she'll find in the forbidden cellar.

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A scene of horror -

She tiptoes downstairs, opens the door, and is met with a scene of absolute horror. The room is spattered with blood and littered with the murdered corpses of Bluebeard's previous six wives.

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Blood trail -

Reeling back in shock, she quickly closes the door and locks it. But in her haste she's smeared blood on the key.

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Bluebeard dies -

Meanwhile, her husband has returned home. He finds the bloodied key and threatens to kill his wife on the spot. Alerted by her screams, her cousins draw swords and strike down the enraged Bluebeard.

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Aftermath -

With Bluebeard dead, his wife inherits his wealth and his castle. She buries the six slain wives, and after her terrible ordeal attempts to rebuild her life.

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Henri Désiré Landru -

Fast forward 222 years or so to 1919, and Henri Désiré Landru has just been arrested in Paris on suspicion of murder.

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Missing women -

Landru, a convicted swindler who operated under different names in the French capital during the First World War, is suspected by police of being a serial killer. His name is linked to the disappearance of a least nine women. He's also believed responsible for the vanishing of a young man, the son of one of the missing women. The problem is that there are no bodies!

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Charged with murder -

Landru, already married with grown-up children at the time of his arrest, is subsequently charged with the murders of 10 women and one man, another unfortunate missing woman's name having been added to the list while Landru is in custody. His trial begins on November 21, 1921.

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Sensational trial -

The trial of Henri Désiré Landru is a media sensation. After it's ascertained that he probably murdered at least seven of his victims in his villa near Gambais, the newspapers dub the accused Bluebeard of Gambais. This is an obvious reference to Perrault's fairy-tale character as well as Landru's full beard, which in fact is rusty red in color.

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House of horrors -

Pictured is Villa Tric, Landru's home in Gambais. He killed seven women here between December 1915 and January 1919, its remote countryside location, just like Bluebeard's castle, serving him well. During the trial, the villa quickly became a tourist attraction. The property still stands and is today a private residence.

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Innocent man? -

Landru maintains his innocence throughout the trial. But further evidence of wrongdoing implicates him in even more deaths.

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Death under the roof -

A property in Vernouillet located northwest of Paris, which Landru had rented from December 1914 to August 1915, is searched. It's believed his first victim, Jeanne Cuchet, and her son André were murdered here.

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Landru's first victim -

Jeanne Cuchet had eloped with Landru while he was on the run after duping dozens of individuals out of huge amounts of money in an investment scam. Cuchet's son accompanied them both. Police suspected that it was her knowledge of the swindle that led Landru to murder Cuchet and her son.

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Macabre exhibit -

One question remained throughout the proceedings: how had Landru disposed of the victims? The awful truth emerged when an oven from his villa was discovered. The prosecution alleged that he'd used the oven to burn the remains of his victims. The macabre exhibit was shown to the court and photographed.

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Witness testimony -

In a parallel with the Bluebeard fairy tale, Fernande Segret, Landru's surviving fiancée, helps seal his fate by claiming in court he tried to poison her twice. Her testimony is believed.

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Last seen riding a bicycle -

The mother of another victim, 19-year-old Andrée Babelay, tells the court that her daughter had spent some time with Landru in Gambais and was last seen by a local game keeper learning to ride a bicycle.

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Crime scene -

This revelation had earlier led police to search the countryside around Landru's villa, a dragnet that uncovered circumstantial evidence that Miss Babelay and other alleged victims had indeed visited the vicinity of Villa Tric shortly before their disappearances.

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Paper trail -

The final nail in Henri Désiré Landru's coffin was the paper trail that led police to the killer's door. Landru had on him sale receipts of valuables that had belonged to his first known victim, Jeanne Cuchet. Also presented as evidence were various scraps of paperwork that listed the missing women, including Célestine Buisson, his known seventh victim, and other documents that linked the man with the murders. His motive had been simple greed, monetary gain at the sake of somebody's life.

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Guilty of murder -

On the evening of November 30, 1921, the jury found Landru guilty of all 11 murders on the charge sheet. He was sentenced to death. His execution by guillotine at Versailles Prison on February 25, 1922, was captured by photographers. This image, though heavily retouched, shows Landru being led to meet his maker.

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Dead and buried -

The body of Bluebeard of Gambais was taken by horse and carriage to Cimetière des Gonards and initially buried in a marked grave. Later, however, his remains were disinterred and reburied in an unmarked grave in the same cemetery.

Sources: (The Cine- Tourist) (RFI)

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