Studio Minuit Crime - True Stories
Numerous studies have shown that serial killers are not an invention of our modern society, but on the contrary, since the dawn of time, men and women have killed their fellow human beings for pure pleasure. This collection of stories follows the path of criminals and serial killers who haunt our collective history, based on clues gathered at crime scenes, on court records, and on the technical and psychological analyses of experts. The listener then has all the elements to form an opinion. This series is not only a collection of facts, but an attempt to understand through a variety of complex cases, the patterns that drive someone to kill and then, do it again...
This July 16th 1918 was a day like any other at the Ipatiev villa in Ekaterimburg. The morning sun had given way to a grey day. Alexis was getting a bit cold and Tatiana was reading the Bible to her mother. At 4 p.m. Nicholas and his four daughters went down to the garden for their daily walk. After dinner, Tatiana and Nicolas played cards and went to bed at quarter past ten. The temperature was 15 degrees. Time passed slowly here...
For many years, the Wars of Religion bloodied the kingdom of France. Violent and hateful, they turned the country into a battlefield in the name of God. Two kings of France were assassinated by fanatics who believed they had a mission. Today we turn to King Henry III, who reigned in an extremely troubled time.
On the morning of July 15th 1997, on the porch of his sumptuous 5,800-square-metre villa in Miami Beach, Florida, a man was returning home. He had just bought some newspapers. The man was Gianni Versace, founder of the luxury brand that bore his name. Two shots rang out. The first bullet fractured the bottom of his skull and the base of his brain. The second bullet lodged in the right side of his face, near his nose, before fracturing the top of his skull. Versace collapsed...
On March the 1st 2005, Edouard Stern did not show up for work. He could not be reached by telephone. His colleagues were worried because this was not his boss's style. You don't become the thirty-eighth richest person in France by lazing around in bed on morning. They went to his Geneva home and it was Dolores, the cleaning lady, who allowed them to enter the luxurious flat whose alarm had not been set. Something must have happened to Mr Edouard...
On Sunday December 2nd 1945, on the Boulevard des Invalides in Paris, a man was changing the flat tyre of his car. His companion had just gone to get a taxi. He was alone and it was raining. His body was found a few metres from his vehicle, dead, with a large-calibre bullet in his back. In his pocket, twelve thousand francs and his papers : Robert Denoël, forty-three years old, one of the greatest French publishers, had just been murdered.
On 22nd November 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated while on an election tour in Dallas. His presumed assassin was quickly arrested. He was Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the book depository from which the fatal shots were fired. He denied any involvement in the crime...
November 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was in Dallas, Texas. Although very popular, he chose to start his re-election tour in the bastion of the American right that hated him. Several advisers suggested that he cancelled his visit. Hate songs were sung in town and posters have been put up accusing him of treason. But the president persisted in his choice...
On 31st July 1914, Jean Jaurès, founder and director of the newspaper L'Humanité,took his journalists to a café for dinner. He pushed open the door of a restaurant on the corner of rue du Croissant and rue Montmartre. The Café du Croissant was crowded but the owner found them a table near the window overlooking the street: Jaurès was a regular and the furniture could be pushed aside for him...
The James family was on the Southern side when the American Civil War began in 1861. Jesse was too young to be a soldier, so at sixteen he joined the gang of a notorious outlaw named Quantrill. He took part in the massacre of the village of Lawrence and boasted of having killed thirty-six men in a single day...
The 1980s in France were marked by the songs of Jean-Jacques Goldman. With Il suffira d'un signe, Quand la musique est bonne and Je te donne, he reached the top of the Top 50. In 1987 he wrote a song called La-bas. It was a duet he was to perform with a woman. It is about a man who wants to leave and travel and a woman who begs him to stay and start a family with her. To record it, he needed a female voice...
The weather was fine and warm in August 1572. Paris was celebrating : a royal wedding was taking place in the Louvre between Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Navarre. This surprising marriage between a Catholic princess and a Protestant king was the result of the efforts of the Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici. She hoped to appease the religious wars that were bloodying the kingdom...
Malcolm Little was 13 years old when a teacher told him that he would never be a lawyer because he was black. For white Americans in the 1950s, young black men were nothing but seeds of gallows. And the young boy had no trouble embodying this destiny. His delinquent youth led to an early addiction to drugs and a stay in prison. It was there that, at the age of 21, he began to educate himself, because he understood that without an education, one gets nowhere in this world. It was also in prison that he joined the Nation of Islam. This was a small organisation that called for the creation of a state for blacks in the American South and considered whites to be the incarnation of the devil on earth...
In the early 1930s in Spain, Federico García Lorca was a very famous poet and theatre maker. Romancero gitano, a collection of poems inspired by old Andalusian legends, brought him to the forefront of young Spanish poets. He was known and appreciated throughout Spain thanks to his travelling theatre company, La Barraca. It toured the rural provinces performing plays from the Spanish classical repertoire to the widest possible audience. The aim was to bring theatre to the most disadvantaged social strata who did not usually have access to it...
Like many people, you probably know the story of Empress Sissi from the series of films that have been shown on television. The young and beautiful Romy Schneider gave a face and a smile to Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. Her life, however, was a succession of dramas, as was her death in 1898.
Prague, May 27th 1942. Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik have been waiting for more than an hour in camouflage along a road in the suburb of Holechovitz. They are waiting to receive the signal that Reinhard Heydrich's Mercedes convertible was finally approaching. These two Czechoslovak resistance fighters were about to accomplish their mission, Operation Anthropoid...
Wild Bill Hickok is considered the first representative of order in the United States. He lived in a dangerous period, that of the conquest of the West, when bandits, thieves and lawless men abounded. He himself had a very personal sense of justice : more a professional killer than a servant of the law, he revealed very early on a certain aptitude for getting rid of his adversaries.
When Grigori Rasputin arrived in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, in 1903, his reputation was already very controversial. A wise man and healer for some, a debauchee, thief, alcoholic and womanizer for others, he had every intention of making his way to the tsar. For the capital's elite, this Siberian peasant's son became a kind of charismatic spiritual master. His strangeness intrigued and his powers fascinated.
December 8th, 1980. Annie Leibovitz, a photographer specialising in the portraits of stars, went to the Dakota Building in New York. She had an appointment with John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono for a photo shoot for Rolling Stones magazine. The photograph she took of the couple became extremely famous. It shows John Lennon naked, curled up in a fetal position, embracing his wife, who is fully dressed. A beautiful photo of a happy, fulfilled couple...
Caligula marked history by his cruelty and madness. He became master of the world, that is, emperor of Rome, at the age of twenty-four, although he was not destined to do so. But power undoubtedly went to his head...
On Friday May 16th, 1610, King Henri IV of France climbed into his carriage. He was going to meet Sully, his superintendent of finance, who was bedridden with a fever. As they were almost neighbours, the king felt that he didn't need to be escorted by the horse guard. Only a few infantrymen accompanied him and three or four dukes in the carriage. This would not be enough.
Near Médéa in Algeria, the Notre-Dame d'Atlas monastery in Tibhirine was a place of peace and recollection. Founded in 1938, it was a vast farm of twelve hectares where the Cistercian monks lived by working the land and prayed while respecting their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. They got along very well with the Muslims in the area and did not seek to convert them. On the contrary, they were working towards reconciliation with Islam.
Agamemnon. A powerful, regal name that no doubt evokes memories of Greek mythology. The illustrious character belonged to the family of the Atreides, marked by murder, parricide, infanticide and incest. Enough to write beautiful tragedies...
Pier Paolo Pasolini's writings and films still form a disturbing body of work. This angry man spat out his hatred of morality and hypocrisy all his life. He never ceased to revile the old Italian bourgeoisie and the young protesters, to hate consumer society loud and clear and to denounce compromises, including and especially when they concerned the powerful. In various newspapers, he revealed the proven links between the government and the mafia. He shouted, they tried to gag him: each release of one of his films was accompanied by a controversy or a legal attack. So much the better: Passolini wanted to be the one who shocked, denounced and screamed in those years of darkness. But he underestimated the determination of his enemies to silence him.
It was not until the age of 31 that the American Dian Fossey discovered Rwanda and the great apes that still live there. This encounter deeply affected her. She became fascinated by the gorillas and decided to observe them in order to better understand and defend them. She had to approach them without frightening them, and for that, what better way than to look like them ? So she reproduced their behaviour, walking on all fours, nibbling plants, imitating their cries, their gestures... Soon, the Rwandans called her Nyiramachabelli, which meant : "The woman who lives without men in the forest". She became more and more involved with the gorillas, including the big males who were so wild. And the more she cohabited with the apes, the less she tolerated humans...
Imagine yourself in a gym with 30 other people, and the room is heated to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for the next 90 minutes. Your body is already dripping with sweat, and that's just the beginning. A series of 26 different postures awaits you, from the eagle to the triangle to the half moon, interspersed with two breathing exercises, essential if you care at all about your lungs. Behind you, you feel a man coming and going, dressed only in a tight black bathing suit and the golden Rolex on his wrist. His voice penetrates you, guiding your every move, and everyone around you obeys him. Before you, celebrities like George Harrison, Frank Sinatra or Madonna have practiced his “hot yoga”, a practice that supposedly cures everything: arthritis, lumbago, heart problems...
At age 14, Nadia Comăneci shakes the world of gymnastics with her perfect 10 out of 10 score at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Despite her victory, the gymnast from Romania never shakes off her serious expression, her eyebrows furrowed behind her bangs and her mouth shut. When asked by a journalist why she never smiles, she replies that she only thinks about her past and future training. Her precocious maturity and achievements inspire a host of little girls to rush to the gyms and sign up for gymnastics, not only in the Eastern bloc, but also on the other side of the Iron Curtain and in the United States. From those years on, the average age in the discipline dropped drastically : the younger the better. Frequent side effects have been growth problems, eating disorders, metabolic disorders... But nobody complains about it. The gym, sometimes, can be a cruel place...
Football may be the most popular sport in the United States, even a religion for some, but it can have a darker side. Several high-profile criminal cases implicated NFL players : O.J. Simpson, the most famous, accused of having murdered his ex-girlfriend ; Deshaun Watson, quarterback of the Houston Texans, charged by 21 women of sexual assault ; Michael Vick, who organized dog fights in his spare time... Unbearable daily pressure, omnipresence of the media, painful family history... There seems to be no shortage of reasons to fall on the wrong side of the fence, although it is difficult to make generalizations. Nevertheless, there can sometimes be a kind of double game. Shining on the field and in front of the cameras, and behind the scenes... darkness.
In the 1973 film “Day for Night”, the director François Truffaut compares the cinema to trains running through the night: films are more harmonious than life, they move forward inexorably, without traffic jams and without dead time. 10 years earlier, Night Train was already the title of a James Brown song, to which the American boxer Sonny Liston systematically practiced, punching his pear in rhythm, never missing a beat.
Any England fan of a certain, nostalgic age will tell you straight up : soccer is not what it used to be. Ah, you should have seen in it in the 60's, how the pitch was systematically transformed into a battlefield. Video assistance was science fiction, players didn't wear shin guards and goalkeepers stopped shots with their bare hands, no gloves... It was a happy time for defenders. They were ordered to hit the ball hard, to try to aim at the ball first when tackling, but if the spike accidentally hit the dribbler, no one complained... In this particular exercise, Peter Storey was one of the greatest in England. Nicknamed the Hatchet Man, or "the bastard of bastards", the footballer never ceased to play with the limits or the rules, both on and off the field...
It is January 6th, 1994, at the Tony Kent Center in Dennis, Massachusetts. At the end of the day, skater Nancy Kerrigan completes her training session with a loop jump, then leaves the ice for dry land. She covers her blades with slippers, and steps behind the backstage curtain on the tips of her skates. On her way to the locker room, she sees a man coming towards her from the other end of the deserted corridor. As he reaches her, he wordlessly deploys a telescopic baton and violently hits her in the leg...
On the night of July 18th 2010, the ringing of a telephone breaks a brief and peaceful interlude at the 911 call center in Germantown, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. An employee swallows the last drops of her coffee and picks up the phone: she barely has time to speak when a shot rings out in her headset, soon followed by others. Silence falls again, the operator timidly signifies her presence for the second time and by way of answer, new detonations hit her eardrums. The deluge resumes and, after a last lull, the communication is abruptly cut...
On August 4th 2012, a shot sounds in the stadium, signaling the start of the second semi-final of the men's 400 meter race at the London Summer Olympics. Under the cheers of the crowd, eight athletes take off in a flash and among them, the runner from South Africa attracts the spotlight. Nothing seems to distinguish him from his adversaries, until the camera switches to a wide shot and reveals two carbon blades pounding the track instead of feet. Oscar Pistorius is making history: in his discipline, he is the first amputee athlete to participate in an Olympic race.
In early summer 2010, the soccer nation is in mourning. Eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Brazil’s national team returns home empty-handed and is about to go on a grim vacation. The media cannot be counted on to smooth things over: the Seleção's mediocre performance during the competition is all over the front pages. The journalists and fans don’t digest failure easily... And instead of a miracle, it’s rather a sordid tragedy that will finally give some respite to the defeated players. There’s nothing like sports or blood, or both at once, to distract the media’s attention...
On the morning of June 17th 1994, 95 million Americans were glued to their televisions. Any channel would salivate at such Super-Bowl worthy ratings. An exceptional audience, for an exceptional show : from the sky, cameramen in helicopters film the deserted freeway ramps of Los Angeles, where only a white Ford Bronco crisscrosses the asphalt... Holding the steering wheel in one hand, a gun in the other, with a police officer's voice blaring through a megaphone behind his back, telling him to stop, to think of all those who love him, of all the children who admire him, not to let them down... It must be said that the man is a living legend: 20 years earlier, he was the fastest running back in the world.
The starry night of May 16th 1978 was reflected in the calm water of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. On the shore near the town of Noville, policemen were searching, stirring up the earth, pulling apart the cobs in a cornfield lit by a gibbous moon. Occasionally, one of their metal detectors goes off, and everyone holds their breath, but no : another old tin can. Pure beef ravioli, of course, but that won't make the investigators happy tonight. They were looking for something else, but what ? Gold ? The Holy Grail ? Pandora's box ? Nothing of the sort... They were looking for a coffin, and not just any coffin : that of one of the greatest filmmakers in history....
The starry night of May 16th 1978 was reflected in the calm water of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. On the shore near the town of Noville, policemen were searching, stirring up the earth, pulling apart the cobs in a cornfield lit by a gibbous moon. Occasionally, one of their metal detectors goes off, and everyone holds their breath, but no : another old tin can. Pure beef ravioli, of course, but that won't make the investigators happy tonight. They were looking for something else, but what ? Gold ? The Holy Grail ? Pandora's box ? Nothing of the sort... They were looking for a coffin, and not just any coffin : that of one of the greatest filmmakers in history....
The Henri Pranzini case, also known as the "triple murder of the rue Montaigne", was one of the most resounding cases of the late 19th century. At that time, the paper press monopolised the media field, devoting entire sections to news items and attracting nearly 10 million readers eager for sordid crimes. In this case, the story you are about to hear was a hit with all the newspapers, which did not hesitate to take up the subject from the very beginning of the investigation, to get ahead of the police by following up leads of their own, and sometimes even to fabricate when the elements were missing. Decades later, his aura would shine internationally, inspiring a playwright to write a play and a director to make a TV film. All the ingredients were there for a thrilling tale: blood, more than enough, jewels and the best detectives of their time, in pursuit of an adventurer as seductive as he was dangerous.
The Henri Pranzini case, also known as the "triple murder of the rue Montaigne", was one of the most resounding cases of the late 19th century. At that time, the paper press monopolised the media field, devoting entire sections to news items and attracting nearly 10 million readers eager for sordid crimes. In this case, the story you are about to hear was a hit with all the newspapers, which did not hesitate to take up the subject from the very beginning of the investigation, to get ahead of the police by following up leads of their own, and sometimes even to fabricate when the elements were missing. Decades later, his aura would shine internationally, inspiring a playwright to write a play and a director to make a TV film. All the ingredients were there for a thrilling tale: blood, more than enough, jewels and the best detectives of their time, in pursuit of an adventurer as seductive as he was dangerous.
In 2003, an entire family was massacred in a quiet winter sports resort. It all started with their disappearance, which set the media machine in motion. It quickly revealed the grudges and resentments that lay behind the beautiful mountain scenery and ski slopes. Then the worst came to light : the fact that one can violently slaughter young children in order to own a nice chalet. Without even being crazy, just for the desire to have. This frightening story is that of the Grand Bornand massacre.
In 2003, an entire family was massacred in a quiet winter sports resort. It all started with their disappearance, which set the media machine in motion. It quickly revealed the grudges and resentments that lay behind the beautiful mountain scenery and ski slopes. Then the worst came to light : the fact that one can violently slaughter young children in order to own a nice chalet. Without even being crazy, just for the desire to have. This frightening story is that of the Grand Bornand massacre.
In 2003, an entire family was massacred in a quiet winter sports resort. It all started with their disappearance, which set the media machine in motion. It quickly revealed the grudges and resentments that lay behind the beautiful mountain scenery and ski slopes. Then the worst came to light : the fact that one can violently slaughter young children in order to own a nice chalet. Without even being crazy, just for the desire to have. This frightening story is that of the Grand Bornand massacre.
It was 7.45 am on the morning of August 22nd 1995. In Saulx-les-Chartreux, in the Essonne, a market gardener was walking along a path along the Yvette towards her vegetable garden. She had to wait : on the way, she saw a human arm protruding from the watercourse, which had dried up due to the summer temperatures. The limb seemed to have been pulled out of a large cloth bag, sunk in 16 inches of water. Frightened, the market gardener forgot her turnips and ran in the other direction to inform the nearest police station. On the spot, the dead man was fished out of the water and the sheet in which he was wrapped was removed...
It was 7.45 am on the morning of August 22nd 1995. In Saulx-les-Chartreux, in the Essonne, a market gardener was walking along a path along the Yvette towards her vegetable garden. She had to wait : on the way, she saw a human arm protruding from the watercourse, which had dried up due to the summer temperatures. The limb seemed to have been pulled out of a large cloth bag, sunk in 16 inches of water. Frightened, the market gardener forgot her turnips and ran in the other direction to inform the nearest police station. On the spot, the dead man was fished out of the water and the sheet in which he was wrapped was removed...
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 was a sunny day in the Bauges mountains of Haute-Savoie. William Brett Martin took the opportunity to go for a bike ride near the village of Chevaline, population two hundred. He took the Combe d'Ire road, a nice climb that he regularly made. He was not the only one to pedal in these mountains, but he was in no hurry. He was therefore overtaken by another cyclist at around 3.15 pm. He then passed a green 4 x 4 and a motorbike. Then he reached the Martinet car park at an altitude of 2500 feet. He would never forget what he found there...
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 was a sunny day in the Bauges mountains of Haute-Savoie. William Brett Martin took the opportunity to go for a bike ride near the village of Chevaline, population two hundred. He took the Combe d'Ire road, a nice climb that he regularly made. He was not the only one to pedal in these mountains, but he was in no hurry. He was therefore overtaken by another cyclist at around 3.15 pm. He then passed a green 4 x 4 and a motorbike. Then he reached the Martinet car park at an altitude of 2500 feet. He would never forget what he found there...
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 was a sunny day in the Bauges mountains of Haute-Savoie. William Brett Martin took the opportunity to go for a bike ride near the village of Chevaline, population two hundred. He took the Combe d'Ire road, a nice climb that he regularly made. He was not the only one to pedal in these mountains, but he was in no hurry. He was therefore overtaken by another cyclist at around 3.15 pm. He then passed a green 4 x 4 and a motorbike. Then he reached the Martinet car park at an altitude of 2500 feet. He would never forget what he found there...
It was a wonderful time to be living on the banks of the Rhône in August 1889. While in the capital, the whole of Paris was living to the rhythm of the Universal Exhibition, gathering crowds on the Champ-de-Mars where the very young Eiffel Tower was overlooking the events, the inhabitants of the Rhône-Alpes region were enjoying quiet days, taking advantage of the river and the nature that protected them from the summer heat. However, a detail was disturbing the rural atmosphere: more and more walkers were disturbed by a stench that persisted on the departmental road between Vernaison and Millery, south of Lyon...
It was a wonderful time to be living on the banks of the Rhône in August 1889. While in the capital, the whole of Paris was living to the rhythm of the Universal Exhibition, gathering crowds on the Champ-de-Mars where the very young Eiffel Tower was overlooking the events, the inhabitants of the Rhône-Alpes region were enjoying quiet days, taking advantage of the river and the nature that protected them from the summer heat. However, a detail was disturbing the rural atmosphere: more and more walkers were disturbed by a stench that persisted on the departmental road between Vernaison and Millery, south of Lyon...
To what extent can one know misfortune ? How many tragedies can occur in a life, and continuously break some rare periods of happiness ? For Manuela Gonzalez-Cano, there seems to be no limit : in 25 years, she had lost three husbands. Suicide, fire, depression... Each of her companions suddenly disappears in tragic circumstances, as if they were victims of a curse from which there was no escape. The story was always the same : Manuela gets back on her feet, tries to rebuild her family, and thinks she can do it for a while, before a new incident destroys everything...
To what extent can one know misfortune ? How many tragedies can occur in a life, and continuously break some rare periods of happiness ? For Manuela Gonzalez-Cano, there seems to be no limit : in 25 years, she had lost three husbands. Suicide, fire, depression... Each of her companions suddenly disappears in tragic circumstances, as if they were victims of a curse from which there was no escape. The story was always the same : Manuela gets back on her feet, tries to rebuild her family, and thinks she can do it for a while, before a new incident destroys everything...
The life of Jean-Baptiste Rambla was a sordid soap opera, made up of episodes each more macabre than the last. It began when he was still known as little Jean. At the age of six, he was the main witness to the kidnapping and murder of his sister, Marie Dolores Rambla. Decades later, he in turn became a murderer.
The life of Jean-Baptiste Rambla was a sordid soap opera, made up of episodes each more macabre than the last. It began when he was still known as little Jean. At the age of six, he was the main witness to the kidnapping and murder of his sister, Marie Dolores Rambla. Decades later, he in turn became a murderer.
The life of Jean-Baptiste Rambla was a sordid soap opera, made up of episodes each more macabre than the last. It began when he was still known as little Jean. At the age of six, he was the main witness to the kidnapping and murder of his sister, Marie Dolores Rambla. Decades later, he in turn became a murderer.
In Nantes, in a residential area where the middle class and the wealthy live, time has stopped at number 55 boulevard Robert Schumann. Since the beginning of April 2011, the black shutters on the white façade had remained closed. Opposite, parked vehicles were stuck, on the letterbox a note soberly indicated: "Mail to be returned to sender. Thank you." Intrigued, the neighbours consulted each other and agreed : no one had seen or heard the occupants of the house for several days. The outward signs suggested a sudden move, but the logistics would undoubtedly have been noticed : a lorry in the middle of the road, people going back and forth with their arms full, bulky items that were willingly given up...
In Nantes, in a residential area where the middle class and the wealthy live, time has stopped at number 55 boulevard Robert Schumann. Since the beginning of April 2011, the black shutters on the white façade had remained closed. Opposite, parked vehicles were stuck, on the letterbox a note soberly indicated: "Mail to be returned to sender. Thank you." Intrigued, the neighbours consulted each other and agreed : no one had seen or heard the occupants of the house for several days. The outward signs suggested a sudden move, but the logistics would undoubtedly have been noticed : a lorry in the middle of the road, people going back and forth with their arms full, bulky items that were willingly given up...
In Nantes, in a residential area where the middle class and the wealthy live, time has stopped at number 55 boulevard Robert Schumann. Since the beginning of April 2011, the black shutters on the white façade have remained closed. Opposite, parked vehicles are stuck, on the letterbox a note soberly indicates: "Mail to be returned to sender. Thank you." Intrigued, the neighbours consulted each other and agreed: no one had seen or heard the occupants of the house for several days. The outward signs suggested a sudden move, but the logistics would undoubtedly have been noticed: a lorry in the middle of the road, people going back and forth with their arms full, bulky items that were willingly given up...
On October 10th, 1986, during an operation carried out hand in hand by the American DEA and the Carabinieri, a battering ram breaks down the door of a Swiss chalet in the snowy canton of Fribourg. The investigators' information is fresh, and the catch is rather good : 12 kilos of cocaine seezed, 12 traffickers rolling around in the powdery snow, including three Frenchmen. Among them is a certain François Scapula, a Marseilles-based gangster who used to be called Francis le Brun, before changing his nickname to Scapu la Balance...
On October 10th, 1986, during an operation carried out hand in hand by the American DEA and the Carabinieri, a battering ram breaks down the door of a Swiss chalet in the snowy canton of Fribourg. The investigators' information is fresh, and the catch is rather good : 12 kilos of cocaine seezed, 12 traffickers rolling around in the powdery snow, including three Frenchmen. Among them is a certain François Scapula, a Marseilles-based gangster who used to be called Francis le Brun, before changing his nickname to Scapu la Balance...
The story begins as a bad joke: on 27 September 2010, at the Hérault criminal court, three individuals are on trial: a viscount, a tile washer and a wealthy annuitant. They are all allegedly involved in the murder of Bernadette Bissonnet, a retired pharmacist, shot dead in her home two years ago. What link can unite these three people? What secret is behind the victim's death? We'll have to wait to find out, but what starts as a dubious joke will end up in a line worthy of the greatest Greek tragedies. When the verdict is announced, the third defendant, indignant at the fate reserved for him, will rise from his box to declaim in his most flowery language: "Justice of shit!"
The story begins as a bad joke: on 27 September 2010, at the Hérault criminal court, three individuals are on trial: a viscount, a tile washer and a wealthy annuitant. They are all allegedly involved in the murder of Bernadette Bissonnet, a retired pharmacist, shot dead in her home two years ago. What link can unite these three people? What secret is behind the victim's death? We'll have to wait to find out, but what starts as a dubious joke will end up in a line worthy of the greatest Greek tragedies. When the verdict is announced, the third defendant, indignant at the fate reserved for him, will rise from his box to declaim in his most flowery language: "Justice of shit!"
July 17th, 1987. In her house of Arcachon, Dominique, mother of family, is pulled out of sleep by a man. He rapes her and then withdraws into the darkness, without leaving any trace behind him. Dominique is the first of a long list. Between 1987 and 2002, at least 36 other women from the southwest of France were surprised by the man. Each time, the predator cuts the electricity, enters through the roof without a sound, commits his crime and leaves the way he came. He is so careful that it is not until 1998 that, following several assaults in the Hossegor region, the police understand that a sexual predator is active on the Atlantic coast...
July 17th, 1987. In her house of Arcachon, Dominique, mother of family, is pulled out of sleep by a man. He rapes her and then withdraws into the darkness, without leaving any trace behind him. Dominique is the first of a long list. Between 1987 and 2002, at least 36 other women from the southwest of France were surprised by the man. Each time, the predator cuts the electricity, enters through the roof without a sound, commits his crime and leaves the way he came. He is so careful that it is not until 1998 that, following several assaults in the Hossegor region, the police understand that a sexual predator is active on the Atlantic coast...
July 17th, 1987. In her house of Arcachon, Dominique, mother of family, is pulled out of sleep by a man. He rapes her and then withdraws into the darkness, without leaving any trace behind him. Dominique is the first of a long list. Between 1987 and 2002, at least 36 other women from the southwest of France were surprised by the man. Each time, the predator cuts the electricity, enters through the roof without a sound, commits his crime and leaves the way he came. He is so careful that it is not until 1998 that, following several assaults in the Hossegor region, the police understand that a sexual predator is active on the Atlantic coast...
Karine, a young French woman, was shot as she left a movie theater in Pont-Sainte-Maxence in July 1978. She was able to make a full recovery, albeit she was unable to identify her assailant. However, the attacker sent a note to the French gendarmerie several days later, alleging that Karine recognized him and that he would strike again...
Karine, a young French woman, was shot as she left a movie theater in Pont-Sainte-Maxence in July 1978. She was able to make a full recovery, albeit she was unable to identify her assailant. However, the attacker sent a note to the French gendarmerie several days later, alleging that Karine recognized him and that he would strike again...
The number of women who have been attacked or even killed while running is uncountable. This crime, which should not become commonplace, is the starting point of what is now known as the Alexia case. A husband comes to the police station to report that his wife has not returned from a run. He is worried. As time passes, so does his family. When the body of the unfortunate woman is found, everyone supports each other because they are very united. However, the truth will shatter this family, even though it took a long time for it to finally come out.
The number of women who have been attacked or even killed while running is uncountable. This crime, which should not become commonplace, is the starting point of what is now known as the Alexia case. A husband comes to the police station to report that his wife has not returned from a run. He is worried. As time passes, so does his family. When the body of the unfortunate woman is found, everyone supports each other because they are very united. However, the truth will shatter this family, even though it took a long time for it to finally come out.
The number of women who have been attacked or even killed while running is uncountable. This crime, which should not become commonplace, is the starting point of what is now known as the Alexia case. A husband comes to the police station to report that his wife has not returned from a run. He is worried. As time passes, so does his family. When the body of the unfortunate woman is found, everyone supports each other because they are very united. However, the truth will shatter this family, even though it took a long time for it to finally come out.
The number of women who have been attacked or even killed while running is uncountable. This crime, which should not become commonplace, is the starting point of what is now known as the Alexia case. A husband comes to the police station to report that his wife has not returned from a run. He is worried. As time passes, so does his family. When the body of the unfortunate woman is found, everyone supports each other because they are very united. However, the truth will shatter this family, even though it took a long time for it to finally come out.
A successful stunt: millions stolen, without a single shot being fired. Without any apparent violence, the architects of these operations looked like Robin Hood. Even if the reality is often much more dull. And that these men, caught up or not by the justice, generally do not have the romantic profile that one lends them. For this story, let's go to Nice, and more precisely to the Société Générale safe room, on July 16, 17 and 18, 1976, in the heart of the city. The loot? 46 million francs, the equivalent of about 29 million euros today.
A successful stunt: millions stolen, without a single shot being fired. Without any apparent violence, the architects of these operations looked like Robin Hood. Even if the reality is often much more dull. And that these men, caught up or not by the justice, generally do not have the romantic profile that one lends them. For this story, let's go to Nice, and more precisely to the Société Générale safe room, on July 16, 17 and 18, 1976, in the heart of the city. The loot? 46 million francs, the equivalent of about 29 million euros today.
Kalinka Bamberski was on vacation in Lindau with her mother and stepfather in the summer of 1982. Dieter Krombach, the girl's stepfather, allegedly gave her an iron injection to help her get a tan. Later, Kalinka died of asphyxia. This much is apparent, but for the past 30 years, French and German police have argued on the retired German doctor's intent...
Natascha Kampusch, a native of Vienna, Austria, was ten years old when she began attending school on her own. As a birthday present, her mother permitted her to go to school alone that day. The walk was short and took place in a residential area. Natascha observed a man standing on the sidewalk, leaning against a white van, at some point on her way. For eight years, Natascha Kampusch was held captive.
Elodie Kulik was abducted, raped, and murdered while walking home from a restaurant in January 2002. Her car was targeted in an ambush and she was dragged from her vehicle as she sought to summon emergency services in the northern French town of Péronne, where she worked as a 24-year-old bank manager. Despite a massive investigation, no arrests were made, and the case was closed.
Olof Palme, a controversial and outspoken leader at home and abroad, was in his second term as Prime Minister of Sweden at the time. But he insisted on leading as regular a life as he could, and he frequently ignored his police protection, as he did that night.
The prime minister was shot in the back at point blank range while walking home with his wife Lisbet shortly before midnight.
He was already dead as he fell to the ground...
Is it enough if your DNA is found on a weapon or at a crime scene to convict you?
The police may believe so, but the presence of foreign human DNA is significantly more common than previously thought, according to a female serial murderer known as the "Phantom of Heilbronn," a revelation that has had serious ramifications for forensic research.
On November 5, 2004, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 66, vanished after meeting with his estranged wife to discuss their divorce. He'd made it clear that he wanted to marry another young escort girl. Five months after he vanished, his decaying bones were discovered. According to pathologist findings, the earl's injuries, which included a double fracture of the larynx, implied strangling...
Kim Wall, a freelance journalist, was working on an article she wanted to publish in Wired magazine on August 10, 2017. It focused on Peter Madsen, a quirky Danish inventor/entrepreneur who had departed from the firm he built and was now battling against. Since March 2017, Kim had been trying to get an interview with Madsen.
Madsen texted Kim to invite her to board his UC3 Nautilus submarine, a midget submarine. Kim agreed and went to his lab for tea (Space Lab). They came up with a plan for her to meet him at Refshale Shipyard in Copenhagen's waterfront. She would join him on a two-hour journey aboard the Nautilus, which was stationed there. Just before 7 p.m., the submarine would leave port.
On November 18th, 1978, Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones ordered all members residing in the Jonestown, Guyana compound to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking poisoned punch. On that day, 918 individuals perished, with roughly a third of them being children.
Until September 11, 2001, the Jonestown Massacre was the deadliest single non-natural disaster in American history. So, what happened ?
Kings, in general, do not like to be challenged. They do not tolerate contradiction and enjoy exercising power in an absolute manner. This was the case with Henry II Plantagenet, the first of his name, king of England in 1154...
Monday, October 5th 2020, it is 10.30 am. The history and geography teacher of the fourth year of the Bois-d'Aulne secondary school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is going to teach moral and civic education. He has decided, in accordance with the programme, to tackle the issue of freedom of expression. He has been preparing his lesson for a long time, he is proud of it, his name is Samuel Paty...
In 1887, Sadi Carnot was elected President of the French Republic. Today, he is only remembered for being the first president to be assassinated. This is how...
On August 28th,1963, Martin Luther King pronounced this short phrase that would remain famous: "I had a dream". This black American pastor dreamed of a world of peace, where all men would be equal and brothers. Although the laws establishing segregation had been repealed, the United States still practices segregation between blacks and whites on a daily basis. And violence against African Americans has never stopped. Many people struggle against the injustice of a two tiered country. Some choose to respond to violence with violence, others take a different, less radical path. For Rev. Martin Luther King, hate did not eliminate hate, only love would.
You will recall that we left John the Fearless triumphant in 1407 when he had just had his cousin and rival Louis I of Orleans, brother of King Charles VI, assassinated. It was now 1419 and John had come a long way. The unfortunate Charles VI, then known as the Mad King, had been ruling for thirty-nine years. His fits of madness lead cousin John to want to take over the throne. But Charles VI now had an heir, the dauphin Charles. And although some suspect that he was in fact the son of Louis I of Orleans, Queen Isabeau's lover before he was murdered, he was still the official heir...
The war between Armagnacs and Burgundians did not pit the lovers of a south-western brandy against those of a boeuf bourgignon, no. It was a civil war that took place within the wider context of the Hundred Years' War. In those days, families did not hesitate to kill each other to gain power...
The assassin of the day was a woman, which was so rare that there was no word in French for it. One could say murderess, but the murder was more than a murder, since it was premeditated. And in the case of Henriette Caillaux, there was no doubt that there was premeditation...
We all learned at school that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28th 1914 was the trigger for the First World War. But how could the death of this crowned head in a country that we couldn't necessarily place on a map trigger the First World War and plunge Europe into chaos?
Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian investigative journalist and world-famous human rights activist. She was an outspoken opponent of Vladimir Putin's regime, and tirelessly denounced his abuse of democracy and corruption of power.
In 44 BC, Caesar, master of Rome, was at the height of his glory. Thanks to a series of stunning victories, he had extended the borders of the Roman Republic. His military successes also increased his popularity. Rome was more prosperous than ever and his master had the confidence of the people and senators. In short, all was well. Or almost.
A man walks through the snow-covered mountains at an altitude of 3,200 metres. He had stuffed his auroch skin shoes with grass, put on two coats and a bearskin hat. He was carrying a backpack, a deerskin quiver containing twenty arrowheads, a flint dagger, a copper axe and a deer antler tool. In a birch bark basket, he was carrying smouldering charcoal wrapped in young maple leaves. He was only about forty years old but his progress was difficult. He wanted to run, to escape from his pursuers, but he couldn't anymore. Perhaps he was afraid... This suffering and tired man was not yet famous, but he was going to be. A few moments later, he would die and his body would only be found five millennia later, at the very place of his death...
At the beginning of August 1969, actress Sharon Tate returned to her villa on Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. Built a few years earlier for actress Michèle Morgan, it overlooked Beverly Hills. The young actress and her husband, director Roman Polanski, recently had recently moved there because they needed a bigger house for their new baby...
On December 15th, 1890, the sun had not yet risen over Standing Rock, one of the largest Indian reservations in the United States. Snow covered the mountains and the plain, burying the tipis. The snow was immaculate and crunched under the footsteps of the approaching men. They were Lakota Indians, part of the Indian police. There were about forty of them who gradually surrounded the tepee of one of the chiefs who was also one of the most famous Indians in America. His name was Sitting Bull.
Christmas 1983. Marvin Gaye, the famous soul singer, was worried about his father's safety. He gave him a Smith and Wesson to defend himself against burglars...
On April 9th 1865, the Battle of Appomattox in Virginia ended the Civil War. It was the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States, which set off the fuse in 1861 and provoked the secession of ten so-called Confederate Southern states. Lincoln was against slavery, as were the northern states, while the southerners could not imagine for a moment parting with their slaves, who were indispensable labour. After four years of civil war, the Northerners were victorious and slavery was abolished.
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