Henri Désiré Landru: The Notorious Marriage Swindler and Serial Killer

HENRI DÉSIRÉ LANDRU ALLEGEDLY KILLED ELEVEN PEOPLE, TEN OF WHOM WERE WOMEN, DURING WORLD WAR I. THE CASE OF THE SWINDLER WHO PREYED ON MARRIAGE CAUSED QUITE A SENSATION AT THAT TIME.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Henri Désiré Landru was born on April 12, 1869, in Paris. He grew up in relatively poor circumstances and attended a Catholic school. He was a good and diligent student, and later, solely driven by his thirst for knowledge, he managed to secure a position in an architectural firm.

Landru married one of his cousins, and they had four children together. After his time in the military, he committed his first marriage fraud, which landed him in prison for three years. Barely free, he engaged in marriage fraud once again.

LANDRU AS A MARRIAGE SWINDLER

To avoid further imprisonment, Landru assumed a false identity and became a marriage swindler. Under constantly changing names and addresses, he placed matrimonial advertisements. He meticulously documented every contact and even each of his murders in files. In total, he contacted 283 women during that time. He invited some of them to one of his supposed country estates, presenting himself as a well-to-do gentleman. The women who visited him were never seen again. To maintain appearances, he sent postcards in the names of the victims to their relatives and friends. Afterwards, he liquidated the women's belongings to obtain money.

POLICE INVESTIGATIONS

Although the series of murders was noticed during the chaos after World War I, the police were simply overwhelmed at that time. The missing women were lost among the mass of missing persons cases. It was only through the efforts of the victims' relatives that the officers were compelled to take action. When a relative of one of the victims recognized Landru on the street, the true identity of the murderer was quickly revealed. Human bones were found during the searches of the rented houses.

During the trial of Landru in November 1921, over 100 witnesses were called. However, the trial was purely based on circumstantial evidence. Despite Landru consistently proclaiming his innocence, he was sentenced to death. He explained the notes about the women by claiming that he simply took an interest in them, and he stated that he liquidated their property on their behalf. On February 25, 1922, Landru was executed.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

The Landru case received significant attention at that time as it brought an end to the persistent post-war themes in the newspapers. One conspiracy theory even suggests that the murders were invented by the authorities to distract the population from the time marked by suffering and poverty. According to this theory, Landru is said to have spent his later years in Argentina, funded by the state.

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