Doctor Marcel Petiot (January 17, 1897–May 25, 1946) was a French doctor who was convicted of multiple murder after the discovery of the remains of twenty-six people in his home in Paris after World War II. January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ...

Early life

Marcel André Henri Félix Petiot was born January 17, 1897 at Auxerre, France. Later accounts make various claims of his obnoxious childhood and criminal mentality, but is unclear how much of them have been invented afterwards for public consumption. However, on March 26 1914, psychiatrics pronounced him mentally ill and he was expelled from school many times. He finished his education in a special academy in Paris in July of 1915. January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne région of France, between Paris and Dijon. ...

During the First World War, Petiot was drafted into French infantry in January 1916. In Aisne he was wounded and gassed and exhibited more symptoms of mental breakdown. He was sent to various rest homes, was arrested for stealing army blankets and was jailed in Orleans. In a psychiatric hospital at Fleury-les-Aubrais he was again diagnosed for various mental ailments and was returned to front June 1918. He shot himself in the foot and was transferred for three weeks but attached to new regiment in September. New diagnosis was enough to get his discharged with a disability pension. World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars, was a world conflict lasting from August 1914 to the final Armistice (cessation of hostilities) on November 11, 1918. ... Aisne is a département in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River. ... This article is about Orléans, France; for other meanings see Orleans (disambiguation). ...

Into the medical profession

After the war Petiot entered the accelerated education program intended for war veterans, completed medical school in eight months and went to become an intern in Evreux mental hospital. He received his medical degree December 1921 and moved to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, where he received payment for his services both from the patients and from government medical assistance funds. He already favored addictive narcotics. War Veteran is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. ... Évreux is a commune of Normandy, France, in the Eure département, of which it is the préfecture (capital). ...

Petiot's first victim might have been Louise Delaveau, the daughter of an elderly patient, with whom he had a torrid affair in 1926. Delaveau disappeared in May and later neighbors said that they had seen Petiot load a trunk into his car. Police investigated but eventually dismissed her as a runaway. Also in 1926 Petiot ran for mayor of the town, hired an accomplice to disrupt a political debate with his opponent, and won. He kept embezzling from the town funds. In 1927 he married Georgette Lablais. Their son Gerhardt was born the next year. Runaway is a 2004 collection of short stories by Alice Munro. ... A mayor (from the Latin maīor, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Embezzlement is the fraudulent conversion of property from a property owner. ...

The local prefect received numerous complaints about Petiot's behavior based on theft or shady financial deals. Petiot was eventually suspended as a mayor in August 1931 and resigned. The village council also resigned in sympathy. Five weeks later on October 18 he was elected as a councilor for the Yonne district. In 1932 he was accused of stealing electric power from the village of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne and he lost his seat in a council. Meantime, he had already moved to Paris. A prefect (from the Latin praefectus, perfect participle of praeficio, to make in front, i. ...

In Paris Petiot attracted patients with his imaginary credentials and built an impressive reputation for his practice at 66 Rue Caumartin. However, there were rumors of illegal abortions and overt prescriptions of addictive remedies. In 1936 he was appointed médecin d'état-civil with authority to write death certificates. The same year, he was briefly institutionalized for kleptomania, but was released the following year. He still persisted in tax evasion. Anna Augusta Kershaw (1841-1931) death certificate A death certificate is a document issued by a government official, such as a government registrar, that declares the date, location and cause of a persons death. ...

After the outbreak of World War II and the fall of France, Petiot begun to provide false medical certificates to French citizens who were drafted to forced labour into Germany, and treated sick workers that had returned. He was also convicted, in July 1942, of over-prescribing narcotics, despite the fact that two addicts who would have testified against him had disappeared. He received a fine of 2400 Francs. Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ...

According to his own tall tales, Petiot also developed secret weapons that supposedly killed Germans without leaving forensic evidence, had high-level meetings with Allied commanders, engaged in resistance activities (planting booby traps all over Paris) and worked with a (nonexistent) group of anti-fascist Spaniards. When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries supporting the Triple Entente who fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. For more information, see the related articles: Allies of World War I and Allies of...

Fraudulent escape network

Petiot's most lucrative activity, however, was his own false escape route, Fly-Tox. He adopted a "code-name" "Dr. Eugène". He accepted anyone who could afford his price of 25.000 Francs per person regardless of whether they were Jews, resistance fighters or ordinary criminals. His aides Raoul Fourrier, Edmond Pintard and René-Gustave Nézondet directed his victims to his hands. Petiot claimed that he could arrange a safe passage to Argentina or elsewhere in South America through Portugal. He also claimed that Argentinean officials demanded inoculations and injected his victims with cyanide. Then he took all their valuables and disposed of the bodies. People who trusted him to deliver them to safety were never seen alive again. Inoculation was a method of minimising the harm done by infection with smallpox. ...

At first Petiot dumped the bodies in the Seine, but he later destroyed the bodies by submerging them in quicklime or by incinerating them. In 1941, Petiot bought a house at 21 rue le Sueur. This article is about the river in France. ...

What Petiot failed to do was to keep a low profile. The Gestapo eventually found out about him and by April 1943 they had heard all about his "route". Gestapo agent Robert Jodkum forced prisoner Yvan Dreyfus to approach the supposed network, but he simply vanished. A later informer successfully infiltrated the operation and the Gestapo arrested Fourrier, Pintard and Nézondet. Under torture they confessed that "Dr Eugene" was Marcel Petiot. Nezondet was later released but three other spent eight months in prison suspected of helping Jews to escape. Even under torture, they did not identify any other members of the resistance - because they actually knew of none. The Gestapo released the three men in January 1944. The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The â–¶ (help· info) (acronym of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ...

Discovery

On March 6, 1944, neighbors noticed that the smoke from the chimney of 21 Rue le Sueur in Paris smelled noxious. When neighbors went to complain on March 11, they found a note on the door that said the resident would be away for a month. March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 11 March is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ...

Neighbors notified the police and told them that Petiot owned the house. When police called Petiot, he told them to wait for him. However, 30 minutes later, police were obliged to call the fire department to stop the spreading fire. When firemen came through a second-story window, they found a grisly display of bodies and body parts.

When Petiot arrived, he claimed that he was a member of the French Resistance and claimed that the bodies were those of Germans, traitors and collaborators. Because people in general approved of resistance activities, the police were reluctant to arrest Petiot, and so they released him. // History of the Legion Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain signed an armistice with Germany on 22nd June. ...

When police searched the garage, they found a pit filled with quicklime with human remains in it. On the staircase they found a canvas sack containing human remains. There were enough body parts for at least ten complete bodies. Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as lime or quicklime, is a widely used chemical compound. ...

The prominent Paris police Commissaire Georges-Victor Massu took charge of the investigation. His first problem was to establish if Petiot was killing for the Resistance, or for the Gestapo. The latter possibility was eliminated when he received a telegram where Germans ordered Petiot to be arrested as a "dangerous lunatic". Police found Petiot's apartment on Rue Caumartin abandoned, but also found large amounts of chloroform, digitalis and various other poisons in addition to large amounts of more usual medical remedies. PEL-TWA (OSHA) 50 ppm (240 mg/m3) IDLH (NIOSH) 500 ppm Flash point non-flammable RTECS number FS9100000 Supplementary data page Structure & properties n, εr, etc. ... Species About 20 species, including: Digitalis ciliata Digitalis davisiana Digitalis dubia Digitalis ferruginea Digitalis grandiflora Digitalis laevigata Digitalis lanata Digitalis lutea Digitalis obscura Digitalis parviflora Digitalis purpurea Digitalis thapsi Digitalis viridiflora Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous biennials, perennials and shrubs that was traditionally placed in...

Robert Jodkum told them that the Gestapo had arrested Petiot on suspicion of smuggling Jews. Police also found a man who had intended to escape but changed his mind. He said that Petiot had offered him passage to South America for Fr25.000.

Police managed to identify two victims who would have testified against Petiot in the 1942 narcotics trial. It was the first time police had proof of their suspicions that the witnesses had been murdered. Petiot's brother Maurice confessed that he had delivered quicklime to Petiot's house on his brother's orders; he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, and jailed. Georgette Petiot was also arrested on suspicion of having aided her husband, as were Petiot's accomplices, Nezondet and Porchon, and Albert and Simone Neuhausen, who confessed that they had helped to remove suitcases from the Petiot's charnel house.

On June 6 1944 the police had to put the investigation on hold when other matters interfered; the Normandy Invasion had begun. The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ...

Avoidance and capture

During the intervening seven months, Petiot hid with friends, claiming that the Gestapo wanted him because he had killed Germans and informers. He eventually moved in with a patient, Georges Redouté, let his beard grow and adopted various aliases.

When the Resistance and the Paris police rose against German troops in Paris, Petiot adopted the name "Henri Valeri" and joined the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). He became a captain in charge of counterespionage and prisoner interrogations. The French Forces of the Interior (Fr. ...

When the newspaper 'Resistance' published an article about Petiot, his defense attorney from the 1942 narcotics case received a letter in which his fugitive client claimed that the published allegations were mere lies. This gave police a hint that Petiot was still in Paris. The search began anew - with "Henri Valeri" among those who were drafted to find him. Finally, on October 31 Petiot was recognized at a Paris metro station, and arrested. Among his possessions were a pistol, Fr31.700 and 50 sets of identity documents. October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ...

Trial and sentence

Petiot was placed on death row at Santé prison. He continued to claim that he was innocent and that he had only killed enemies of France. He claimed that he had discovered the pile of bodies in 21 Rue le Sueur in February 1944, and assumed that they were collaborators that members of his "network" had killed. Death Row is a term used in some countries including the United States which refers to the section of a prison which houses people awaiting execution. ...

Police noticed that Petiot had no friends in any of the major resistance groups. Some of the groups he'd mentioned had never existed, and there was no proof of any of his claimed exploits. Prosecutors eventually charged him with at least 27 murders for profit. Their estimate of his loot ran to Fr200 million.

Petiot went on trial on March 19, 1946, facing 135 criminal charges. Lawyer René Floriot acted for the defense, against a team consisting of state prosecutors and twelve civil lawyers hired by relatives of Petiot's victims. Petiot taunted the prosecuting lawyers, and claimed that various victims had been collaborators or double agents, or that vanished people were alive and well in South America under new names. He admitted to killing just nineteen of the twenty-seven victims founds in his house, and claimed that they were Germans and collaborators - part of a total of sixty three "enemies" killed. Floriot attempted to portray Petiot as a resistance hero, but the judges and jurors were unimpressed. Petiot was convicted of 26 counts of murder, and sentenced to death. March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Collaboration, literally, consists of working together with one or more others. ... A double agent pretends to spy on a target organization on behalf of a controlling organization, but in fact is loyal to the target organization. ...

Marcel Petiot was executed by guillotine on May 25, 1946, after a stay of a few days due to a problem in the release mechanism of the guillotine. The Maiden, an older Scottish design Portrait of Dr. Guillotin Public guillotining in Lons-le-Saunier, 1897 Guillotine from Baden (reconstruction) The guillotine is a device used for the mechanized application of capital punishment by decapitation. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

References

• Crime Library Serial Killers, Killers From History Dr. Marcel Petiot By Michael Newton

Bibliography

• Grombach, John. The Great Liquidator. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980.
• Maeder, Thomas. The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1980.
• Seth, Ronald. Petiot: Victim of Chance. London: Hutchinson, 1963.