At the end of the 19th century, a small village priest becomes famous for spending large amounts of money he can’t possibly own. To this day, mystery surrounds the origin of his fortune.
Episode 66: The bloody trunk of Millery
On the 13th August 1889, villagers contact local authorities to report a terrible smell along the road from Vernaison and Millery, near Lyon. The gruesome discovery will lead to many twists and a year of inquiry.
Episode 54: The Case of the Sleepwalking Killer
In 1887, solving a beach murder leads to the discovery of an unlikely killer who tells an incredible story.
Episode 49: The Pantin Massacre
In September 1869, 6 bodies are found in a field in Pantin, now a suburb of Paris. A whole family has been murdered and buried in shallow graves. The resolution of the affair will link several regions of France, possible counterfeiting operations, and a greedy murderer.
Episode 44: Louis-Joseph Philippe, the French Jack the Ripper
At the end of the 1880s, Jack the Ripper killed many prostitutes in London. To this day, researchers ponder who he was. But 22 years earlier, Louis-Joseph Philippe killed up to 8 prostitutes and 2 children, and is considered the French Jack the Ripper.
Episode 30: The Fualdès Affair
On the 20 March 1817, a lifeless body is found on the banks of the Aveyron river near Rodez. The throat was cut, making an obvious murder. The victim is well known: it’s Bernardin Fualdès, a retired prosecutor. This affair is one of the most infamous of the 19th century and will be followed avidly all over Europe, marking the start of true crime, crime magazines, and the crime-obsessed press.
Episode 25: The Mingrat Affair
In 1822. in the South East of France, Marie Gerin, a field labourer’s wife, disappears without a trace. The whole village searches for her in vain. She is eventually found in pieces and suspicions turn toward the local priest.
Episode 12: Joseph Vacher
Episode 12 takes us to the South-East of France, where some murders occur without even a suspect being identified. The murders are particularly gruesome, with what appears to be ritualistic mutilations. One instructing judge will have a stroke of genius and develop the first profile to catch the killer.
Episode 8: the disappearance of Louis Le Prince
Our 8th episode, researched by Melanie, looks at the vanishing on the 16th September 1890 of one of the most important, but not very well known, people in the history of cinema: Louis Le Prince, the inventor of the movie camera.
Episode 3: The Red Inn
For this episoode, we go back to the area where our first episode took place. We relate the story of an inn where possibly up to 53 murders took place and how real and imaginary crimes and political schemes play a role in the trial.