When the activities of the Frenchman Marcel Petiot were revealed, journalists began to compete with each other in wit and wit. Petiot was called the "Parisian butcher", and the "demonic man-eater", and the "monster from the rue Lesere", and even the "Bluebeard of the twentieth century." However, in the history of forensic science, another, no less sinister nickname was assigned to him - "Doctor Satan".
Fighter against invaders
On March 11, 1944, the morning of the police in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris began casually and habitually. However, soon the notorious "Groundhog Day" was canceled. The locals turned to them with a complaint, stating that from the chimney of the house number twenty-one, terribly unpleasant smoke, causing bouts of nausea, has been pouring down for several days. Since this mansion and nearby buildings were located in the city center, their tenants were wealthy and influential people. Therefore, the police had to go to the house of twenty-one on the same day to find out the cause of the disgusting smell.
Arriving at the scene, the police made sure that the rich inhabitants of the sixteenth arrondissement did not cheat or be capricious. Smoke was really pouring from the chimney of the mansion, which smelled far from "alpine freshness." The house itself was closed. The corporal found out that it belongs to a respected person - Dr. Marcel Petiot. The policeman managed to contact him by phone and asked to come. But an hour later, Petiot did not appear. Therefore, the corporal ordered his subordinates to knock down the door. Once inside, the law enforcement officers realized that the source of the vile smell was below, in the basement. They went down the stairs. In the basement, a huge oven was discovered, in which flames were raging. And a charred human hand was sticking out of the furnace … Near the stove, the police saw a large heap of coal mixed with bones. We must pay tribute to the corporal and his subordinates,they stoically stood the test of the hellish picture. Soon a criminal police brigade arrived to help them. Now the case of house twenty-one was coming under their jurisdiction. And after the forensics came the owner of a terrible mansion.
In fact, the evidence found in the basement was enough to immediately arrest Petiot, but … It was 1944, France was in an occupied state. The doctor played on this. To the police (by the way, the French), he declared that he was a member of the Resistance, and the remains belonged to the Germans and collaborators. Like, in this way, he is fighting the hated invaders. And if they arrest him now, they will commit a crime against his homeland, because he killed in the name of a proud and bright sense of duty to his country. The corporal, police officers and forensic experts were deeply moved by such a heartbreaking and patriotic speech. Therefore, Petiot was advised to be more secretive, after which they left the mansion. And Marcel, without thinking twice, immediately went on the run. He understood that soon the Germans would come instead of the French and then he would not be able to get out.
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But the case of "Mansion on Leser, twenty-one", one way or another, was not closed. Although slowly, the investigation continued. During a search in the basement, the remains of at least sixty people were found. Most likely, there were more of them, but since many of the bones were heavily crushed, it was not possible to establish the exact number of victims. But it turned out to find out the identities of more than twenty-seven victims - their documents were found in the house. It was then that Petiot's deception was revealed. The victims were not occupiers, but French and Jews. Moreover, the remains belonged to men, women and children. A case surfaced two years ago, when for several months the police had to fish out human remains from the Seine. Then the exact number of victims also could not be established, according to rough estimates - thirteen people. Besides,Between December 1941 and May 1943, police found human remains in various parts of Paris, in which experts identified traces of drugs and curare poison. Rumors spread throughout Paris that a serial killer had started up in the city. However, since May 1943, the terrible finds no longer appeared. Then the law enforcement officers concluded that the maniac either committed suicide, or some kind of accident happened to him. The case was safely closed. And after the search in Petiot's house, everything fell into place. The serial killer didn't die, he just found a new, safer way to get rid of the corpses. Then the law enforcement officers concluded that the maniac either committed suicide, or some kind of accident happened to him. The case was safely closed. And after the search in Petiot's house, everything fell into place. The serial killer didn't die, he just found a new, safer way to get rid of the corpses. Then the law enforcement officers concluded that the maniac either committed suicide, or some kind of accident happened to him. The case was safely closed. And after the search in Petiot's house, everything fell into place. The serial killer didn't die, he just found a new, safer way to get rid of the corpses.
The police were lucky. In its ranks, an expert continued to work, who had already had to deal with the "creativity" of Petiot. Even then, several years ago, he drew on the "mark", which the criminal seemed to put his "authorship" on. He always thrust a scalpel into the victim's thigh. Exactly the same injuries were found on the human remains at the Marseille mansion. It became clear that the serial killer and the doctor are one and the same person.
On August 24, 1944, a significant event took place - Paris was liberated. And most of the police were arrested as accomplices of the occupation regime. It seemed that the Petiot case would now definitely get lost in the chaos that had created. But Marcel suddenly recalled himself. He began to bombard Parisian newspapers with numerous letters in which he claimed that he was framed by the Germans, and he himself was a true patriot, one of the members of the Resistance movement. According to Marcel, the invaders tried to reach the rest of the fighters for independence through him, and the corpses of the French and Jews in the basement were their revenge for their refusal to cooperate. This was done in order to denigrate and compromise him. These numerous messages have attracted the attention of new members of the criminal police. And the case was reopened. Soon the guards managed to detain Marcel's brother, Maurice Petiot. In the cell, he was treated, to put it mildly, inhumanely. Maurice was subjected to grueling interrogations, which lasted several days without interruption. And, in the end, he could not stand it. Maurice said that at the request of his brother, he took out all the personal belongings that were in special hiding places. Then he hid them with his friends and acquaintances. The police, of course, visited the "guardians". Maurice did not lie, they had clothes and shoes, and of different sizes. Then he hid them with his friends and acquaintances. The police, of course, visited the "guardians". Maurice did not lie, they had clothes and shoes, and of different sizes. Then he hid them with his friends and acquaintances. The police, of course, visited the "guardians". Maurice did not lie, they had clothes and shoes, and of different sizes.
Soon, another clue in the Petiot case surfaced. This time, the archives of the Parisian Gestapo played a role. They said that in April 1943 Ivan Dreyfus was arrested. As a result of interrogation with partiality, he agreed to cooperate with the Germans. He was required to lead the invaders to the Parisian underground, who secretly ferried Jews to South America. After some time, Dreyfus announced that an organization was operating in Paris that helped them get out of the country. He also named three people: Pintar, Furrier and Nizonde. And the head of the organization was a certain doctor Eugene. The agent himself disappeared after this information. But the Gestapo managed to arrest three Frenchmen. Under torture they told that Dr. Eugene was Marcel Petiot. They didn't have any more information. The Gestapo has established surveillance of Petiot,but they did not manage to arrest him - the Resistance sharply intensified. It became corny for the Germans to have no time for the French benefactor. Therefore, soon the Petiot case was sent to the archive.
The French police began searching for a doctor. On October 31, 1944, at the Saint-Mandé suburban train station, law enforcement officers were conducting a routine document check. They stopped a man who was visibly nervous. He showed a card in the name of Henri Valerie Watterwald, a captain and counterintelligence officer of the French internal forces, as well as a former member of the Resistance. But the gendarmes thought that Henri looked like the wanted Petiot. The suspicious man was detained and began to be investigated. During the search they found several more different identity documents. Watterwald was arrested. And after a confrontation with his wife and brother, the police were convinced that the very same Marcel Petiot was in their hands. It soon became clear that many of the items found in the apartments of the doctor's friends belonged to Jewish refugees. The investigation began to unravel the Petiot case with a vengeance.
Doctor's story
The police found out that Marcel Petiot was born on January 17, 1897 in Auxerre. But the law enforcement officers did not manage to unearth anything concrete about his childhood. The only thing they learned was that as a child, Marcel was abused, as a result of which he received severe mental trauma. However, this was later questioned. Therefore, the true reasons why Petio began to commit murders were never known. But it came to light that Marcel was expelled from school several times for bad behavior, and in March 1914 the medical commission recognized him as mentally ill. Therefore, Petiot had to finish his studies at a special academy.
However, in January 1916, Marseille was drafted into the army, closing his eyes to the conclusion of the doctors. A nineteen-year-old boy got into the infantry. In Aene, he was seriously injured, as well as gas poisoning. And soon he was demobilized, once again, recognized as mentally ill. Petiot underwent treatment in rest homes, but did not complete the rehabilitation course. He was arrested for theft and sent to Orleans prison. But the guy did not stay here too long. From prison he was transferred to the Fleury-les-Aubre hospital. And from there, in June 1918, Petiot returned to the front. But after a couple of weeks, he was wounded in the hospital. It turned out that he had shot himself in the leg.
When the First World War died down, Marseille received his medical education through an accelerated training program for veterans. And then he became an intern at the Evreux psychiatric hospital. At the end of 1921 he received his doctorate and moved to Villeneuve-sur-Ion. Here he quickly managed to gain the trust of not only patients, but also the local government. Taking advantage of his position, Petiot began to test various drugs prohibited in France on people. He also illegally performed abortions.
Apparently, it was at that time that Petiot committed his first murder. The police speculated that his victim could well have been Louise Delaveau, who disappeared in May 1926. According to unconfirmed reports, Marcel and Louise were lovers. Then a conflict arose between them. The only clue of the law enforcement officers was the testimony of neighbors, who saw how Marcel was loading a heavy box into the car. Of course, the doctor became the main suspect, but they could not prove his guilt. According to the official version, Delavaux simply fled, deciding to start life from scratch. True, after some time the police fished out a similar box in the river, in which they found a dismembered body. The examination established that the remains belonged to a young woman, but her identity remained unknown. The case was closed.
Another curious thing: in 1926, Petiot won the election for mayor of Villeneuve-sur-Ion. After gaining power, he began to steal funds from the city treasury. And he did it openly, without fear of justice. In 1927, Marcel got married. Soon his son was born.
But the population of the town did not give Petiot a quiet life. People with enviable consistency complained to the prefect about the financial machinations of their mayor. Therefore, four years later, Marcel had to retire. At the same time, he somehow managed to hush up the case and avoid punishment. Moreover, a month later he managed to get into the Yonne District Council. But six months later, complaints and accusations fell on him again. Petiot retired and moved to the capital. This was the end of his political career.
In Paris, Petiot's career took off. He quickly earned a reputation as a good doctor, although he continued to actively use "alternative" medicine. Gradually, however, rumors spread throughout the city that Marseille was performing illegal abortions and was also prescribing addictive drugs to patients. But this did not cast a shadow on his activities. Rather, on the contrary, in 1936 the doctor achieved his cherished goal - now he could legally draw up death certificates.
When World War II broke out and the Germans occupied France, Petiot quickly found his place. He began selling health certificates to avoid being forced to work in Germany. In 1942, when the occupation regime tightened, Marseille felt a gold mine. A lot of people at that time wanted to leave France. But it was impossible to do it legally. There was only one risky way - illegal. And the doctor began to offer his services. He did not operate alone - several accomplices made his company. They were just Furrier, Pintar and Nizonde, later captured by the Gestapo. True, they knew nothing of Petiot's true intentions. Their task was only to find people who could shell out a large sum for the escape. Moreover, their nationality, occupation and past did not play a role.
Marseille demanded twenty-five thousand francs for their services. At the time, this was a fantastic sum. But there were many who wanted to escape. After all, Dr. Eugene promised that for this money he will be able to organize an escape to Argentina or any other country in South America through "his channels" in Portugal. People came to the mansion, where Dr. Eugene gave vaccinations to people, explaining the requirements of the authorities of overseas countries. But instead of a vaccine, he injected them with poison.
At first, the doctor simply dumped corpses into the Seine. Then he literally scattered the dismembered remains (Petiot made every effort to make the corpses impossible to identify). But in 1943, Marcel decided that this method was no longer suitable, so he hid them in the basement. And in 1944 he began to systematically butcher and burn bodies in the basement of his own mansion.
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The jury found Marcel Petiot guilty of the murder of twenty-six people and sentenced him to death. It happened on March 28, 1946. How many people were sent to the next world by Doctor Satan - it was not possible to establish for certain. The police officers who conducted the case were sure that he had at least six dozen victims on his account. On May 25, 1946, Marcel Petiot was sent to the guillotine.
In 1990, Christian Chalonge directed the film Doctor Petiot, in which Michel Cerro played the role of Marcel.
In the Belgian film New Testament there is a phrase: “God exists. And he lives in Brussels. " The French may well answer this: “Satan existed. And he lived in Paris."
Author: Pavel Zhukov
