Marcel Petiot
Encyclopedia
Marcel André Henri Félix Petiot (17 January 1897 – 25 May 1946) was a French doctor and serial killer
. He was convicted of multiple murders after the discovery of the remains of 26 people in his home in Paris
during World War II
. He is suspected of killing around 60 victims during his life, although the true number remains unknown.
, France. Later accounts make various claims of his delinquency and criminal acts during childhood and adolescence, but it is unclear whether they were invented afterwards for public consumption. It should be noted, however, that a psychiatrist diagnosed him as mentally ill
on 26 March 1914, and he was expelled from school many times. He finished his education in a special academy in Paris in July 1915.
During World War I
, Petiot volunteered for the French army, entering service in January 1916.
In the Second Battle of the Aisne
, he was wounded and gassed and exhibited more symptoms of mental breakdown. He was sent to various rest homes, where he was arrested for stealing army blankets and jailed in Orléans
. In a psychiatric hospital at Fleury-les-Aubrais
, he was again diagnosed with various mental ailments but was returned to the front in June 1918. He was transferred three weeks later after he shot himself in the foot, but was attached to a new regiment in September. A new diagnosis was enough to get him discharged with a disability pension.
. He received his medical degree in 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. At this point, he was already using addictive narcotics. While working at Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, he gained a reputation for dubious medical practices, such as supplying narcotics, and performing then-illegal abortion
s.
Petiot's first victim might have been Louise Delaveau, the daughter of an elderly patient, with whom he had an affair in 1926. Delaveau disappeared in May and neighbors later said that they had seen Petiot load a trunk into his car. Police investigated, but eventually dismissed her as a runaway. That same year, Petiot ran for mayor of the town, and hired an accomplice to disrupt a political debate with his opponent. He won, and in office, he embezzled
town funds. In 1927, he married Georgette Lablais. Their son Gerhardt was born the next year.
The Prefect of Yonne Département
received many complaints about Petiot's thefts and shady financial deals. Petiot was eventually suspended as a mayor in August 1931 and resigned. However, he still had many supporters, and the village council also resigned in sympathy. Five weeks later, on 18 October, he was elected as a councilor of Yonne Département. In 1932, he was accused of stealing electric power from the village and he lost his council seat. Meanwhile, he had already moved to Paris.
In Paris, Petiot attracted patients with his imaginary credentials, and built an impressive reputation for his practice at 66 Rue de Caumartin
. However, there were rumors of illegal abortions and excessive prescriptions of addictive remedies. In 1936, he was appointed médecin d'état-civil, with authority to write death certificate
s. The same year, he was briefly institutionalized for kleptomania
, but was released the following year. He still persisted in tax evasion
.
, French citizens were drafted for forced labor in Germany. Petiot provided false medical disability certificates to people who were drafted. He also treated the illnesses of workers that had returned. In July 1942, he was convicted of overprescribing narcotics, even though two addicts who would have testified against him had disappeared. He was fined 2,400 franc
s.
Petiot later claimed that during the period of German occupation, he was engaged in Resistance
activities. Supposedly, he developed secret weapons that killed Germans without leaving forensic evidence, planted booby traps all over Paris, had high-level meetings with Allied commanders
, and worked with a (nonexistent) group of Spanish
anti-fascists
.
There was no evidence to support any of these tall tales. However, in 1980, he was cited by former U.S.
spymaster Col. John F. Grombach as a World War II source. Grombach had been founder and head of a small independent espionage
agency, later known as "The Pond
", which operated from 1942 to 1955. Grombach asserted that Petiot had reported the Katyn Forest massacre
, German missile development at Peenemünde, and the names of Abwehr
agents sent to the U.S. These claims were not supported by any records of other intelligence services.
However, in 2001, some "Pond" records were discovered, including a cable which mentioned Petiot.
to safety outside France. Petiot claimed that he could arrange a passage to Argentina
or elsewhere in South America
through Portugal
, for a price of 25,000 francs per person. Three accomplices, Raoul Fourrier, Edmond Pintard, and René-Gustave Nézondet, directed victims to "Dr. Eugène", including Jews
, Resistance fighters, and ordinary criminals. Once victims were in his control, Petiot told them that Argentine officials required all entrants to the country to be inoculated
against disease, and with this excuse injected them with cyanide
. Then he took all their valuables and disposed of the bodies.
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.
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 this "route" for the escape of wanted persons, which they assumed was part of the Resistance. Gestapo agent Robert Jodkum forced prisoner Yvan Dreyfus to approach the supposed network, but Dreyfus simply vanished. A later informer successfully infiltrated the operation, and the Gestapo arrested Fourrier, Pintard, and Nézondet. Under torture, they confessed that "Dr Eugène" was Marcel Petiot. Nezondet was later released but three others 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.
During the liberation of Paris in 1944, Petiot adopted the name "Henri Valeri" and joined the French Forces of the Interior
(FFI) in the uprising. He became a captain in charge of counterespionage and prisoner interrogations.
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 31 October, Petiot was recognized at a Paris Métro
station, and arrested. Among his possessions were a pistol, 31,700 francs, and 50 sets of identity documents.
. He claimed that he was innocent and that he had only killed enemies of France. He said that he had discovered the pile of bodies in 21 Rue le Sueur in February 1944, but had assumed that they were collaborator
s killed by members of his Resistance "network".
But the police found that Petiot had no friends in any of the major Resistance groups. Some of the Resistance groups he spoke of 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 ill-gotten gains ran to 200 million francs.
Petiot went on trial on 19 March 1946, facing 135 criminal charges. 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 agent
s, 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 found in his house, and claimed that they were Germans and collaborators – part of a total of 63 "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.
On 25 May, Petiot was beheaded, after a stay of a few days due to a problem in the release mechanism of the guillotine
.
as Petiot.
The 1957 war film Seven Thunders
(also called The Beasts of Marseilles) included an almost identical character, Dr. Martout, played by James Robertson Justice
. The 2006 film Zwartboek, directed by Paul Verhoeven, is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands and includes among its characters a doctor who is "known" to the resistance as sympathetic to their cause. Ultimately he is revealed to have been working for the Nazis. Though offering an escape route for wealthy Dutch Jews
, the character in fact betrays them and steals their money.
The eponymous 1977 debut album by Univers Zéro
inciudes a track named "Docteur Petiot".
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. He was convicted of multiple murders after the discovery of the remains of 26 people in his home in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He is suspected of killing around 60 victims during his life, although the true number remains unknown.
Early life
Petiot was born 17 January 1897 at AuxerreAuxerre
Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...
, France. Later accounts make various claims of his delinquency and criminal acts during childhood and adolescence, but it is unclear whether they were invented afterwards for public consumption. It should be noted, however, that a psychiatrist diagnosed him as mentally ill
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
on 26 March 1914, and he was expelled from school many times. He finished his education in a special academy in Paris in July 1915.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Petiot volunteered for the French army, entering service in January 1916.
In the Second Battle of the Aisne
Second Battle of the Aisne
The Second Battle of the Aisne , was the massive main assault of the French military's Nivelle Offensive or Chemin des Dames Offensive in 1917 during World War I....
, he was wounded and gassed and exhibited more symptoms of mental breakdown. He was sent to various rest homes, where he was arrested for stealing army blankets and jailed in Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. In a psychiatric hospital at Fleury-les-Aubrais
Fleury-les-Aubrais
Fleury-les-Aubrais is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.-External links:*...
, he was again diagnosed with various mental ailments but was returned to the front in June 1918. He was transferred three weeks later after he shot himself in the foot, but was attached to a new regiment in September. A new diagnosis was enough to get him discharged with a disability pension.
Medical and political career
After the war, Petiot entered the accelerated education program intended for war veterans, completed medical school in eight months and became an intern at the mental hospital in ÉvreuxÉvreux
Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...
. He received his medical degree in December 1921 and moved to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne
Villeneuve-sur-Yonne
Villeneuve-sur-Yonne is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.It is surrounded by a partly intact wall, built during the 12th century, which was one of the 8 residences of the French kings.-Geography:...
, where he received payment for his services both from the patients and from government medical assistance funds. At this point, he was already using addictive narcotics. While working at Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, he gained a reputation for dubious medical practices, such as supplying narcotics, and performing then-illegal abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s.
Petiot's first victim might have been Louise Delaveau, the daughter of an elderly patient, with whom he had an affair in 1926. Delaveau disappeared in May and neighbors later said that they had seen Petiot load a trunk into his car. Police investigated, but eventually dismissed her as a runaway. That same year, Petiot ran for mayor of the town, and hired an accomplice to disrupt a political debate with his opponent. He won, and in office, he embezzled
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
town funds. In 1927, he married Georgette Lablais. Their son Gerhardt was born the next year.
The Prefect of Yonne Département
Yonne
Yonne is a French department named after the Yonne River. It is one of the four constituent departments of Burgundy in eastern France and its prefecture is Auxerre. Its official number is 89....
received many complaints about Petiot's thefts and shady financial deals. Petiot was eventually suspended as a mayor in August 1931 and resigned. However, he still had many supporters, and the village council also resigned in sympathy. Five weeks later, on 18 October, he was elected as a councilor of Yonne Département. In 1932, he was accused of stealing electric power from the village and he lost his council seat. Meanwhile, he had already moved to Paris.
In Paris, Petiot attracted patients with his imaginary credentials, and built an impressive reputation for his practice at 66 Rue de Caumartin
Rue de Caumartin
The Rue de Caumartin in the IXe arrondissement of Paris received its name from Antoine-Louis Lefebvre de Caumartin, marquis de Saint-Ange, Comte de Moret , who was prévôt des marchands . He gave the authorization to open the street on 3 July 1779...
. However, there were rumors of illegal abortions and excessive prescriptions of addictive remedies. In 1936, he was appointed médecin d'état-civil, with authority to write death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
s. The same year, he was briefly institutionalized for kleptomania
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
, but was released the following year. He still persisted in tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
.
World War II activities
After the 1940 German defeat of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, French citizens were drafted for forced labor in Germany. Petiot provided false medical disability certificates to people who were drafted. He also treated the illnesses of workers that had returned. In July 1942, he was convicted of overprescribing narcotics, even though two addicts who would have testified against him had disappeared. He was fined 2,400 franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s.
Petiot later claimed that during the period of German occupation, he was engaged in Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
activities. Supposedly, he developed secret weapons that killed Germans without leaving forensic evidence, planted booby traps all over Paris, had high-level meetings with Allied commanders
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, and worked with a (nonexistent) group of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
anti-fascists
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
There was no evidence to support any of these tall tales. However, in 1980, he was cited by former U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
spymaster Col. John F. Grombach as a World War II source. Grombach had been founder and head of a small independent espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
agency, later known as "The Pond
The Pond (intelligence organization)
The Pond was a small, secret organization formed by the government of the United States of America which operated between 1942 and 1955. It engaged in espionage...
", which operated from 1942 to 1955. Grombach asserted that Petiot had reported the Katyn Forest massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
, German missile development at Peenemünde, and the names of Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
agents sent to the U.S. These claims were not supported by any records of other intelligence services.
However, in 2001, some "Pond" records were discovered, including a cable which mentioned Petiot.
Fraudulent escape network
Petiot's most lucrative activity during the Occupation was his false escape route. Under the codename of "Dr. Eugène", Petiot pretended to have a means of getting people wanted by the Germans or the Vichy governmentVichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
to safety outside France. Petiot claimed that he could arrange a passage to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
or elsewhere in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
through Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, for a price of 25,000 francs per person. Three accomplices, Raoul Fourrier, Edmond Pintard, and René-Gustave Nézondet, directed victims to "Dr. Eugène", including Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Resistance fighters, and ordinary criminals. Once victims were in his control, Petiot told them that Argentine officials required all entrants to the country to be inoculated
Inoculation
Inoculation is the placement of something that will grow or reproduce, and is most commonly used in respect of the introduction of a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into the body of a human or animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease...
against disease, and with this excuse injected them with cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
. Then he took all their valuables and disposed of the bodies.
At first, Petiot dumped the bodies in the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, 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.
What Petiot failed to do was to keep a low profile. The Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
eventually found out about him and, by April 1943, they had heard all about this "route" for the escape of wanted persons, which they assumed was part of the Resistance. Gestapo agent Robert Jodkum forced prisoner Yvan Dreyfus to approach the supposed network, but Dreyfus simply vanished. A later informer successfully infiltrated the operation, and the Gestapo arrested Fourrier, Pintard, and Nézondet. Under torture, they confessed that "Dr Eugène" was Marcel Petiot. Nezondet was later released but three others 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.
Discovery of murders
On 11 March 1944, Petiot's neighbors in Rue Le Sueur complained to police of a foul stench in the area and of large amounts of smoke billowing from a chimney of the house. Fearing a chimney fire, the police summoned firemen, who entered the house and found a roaring fire in a coal stove in the basement. In the fire, and scattered in the basement, were human remains.Evasion 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.During the liberation of Paris in 1944, Petiot adopted the name "Henri Valeri" and joined the French Forces of the Interior
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior refers to French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as France's status changed from that of an occupied nation...
(FFI) in the uprising. He became a captain in charge of counterespionage and prisoner interrogations.
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 31 October, Petiot was recognized at a Paris Métro
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
station, and arrested. Among his possessions were a pistol, 31,700 francs, and 50 sets of identity documents.
Trial and sentence
Petiot was imprisoned in La Santé PrisonLa Santé Prison
La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....
. He claimed that he was innocent and that he had only killed enemies of France. He said that he had discovered the pile of bodies in 21 Rue le Sueur in February 1944, but had assumed that they were collaborator
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
s killed by members of his Resistance "network".
But the police found that Petiot had no friends in any of the major Resistance groups. Some of the Resistance groups he spoke of 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 ill-gotten gains ran to 200 million francs.
Petiot went on trial on 19 March 1946, facing 135 criminal charges. René Floriot
René Floriot
René Edmond Floriot was a French lawyer.-Life:Floriot drove "a research staff of six lawyers, known as "l'usine Floriot" . Gifted with prodigious memory, he can simplify the most complex case for the dullest of jurors...
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 agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
s, 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 found in his house, and claimed that they were Germans and collaborators – part of a total of 63 "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.
On 25 May, Petiot was beheaded, after a stay of a few days due to a problem in the release mechanism of the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
.
Portrayal in popular culture
Petiot's life and career were dramatised in the 1990 film Docteur Petiot, directed by Christian de Chalonge and starring Michel SerraultMichel Serrault
Michel Serrault was a celebrated French actor who appeared in over 150 films.-Biography :...
as Petiot.
The 1957 war film Seven Thunders
Seven Thunders (film)
Seven Thunders is a 1957 World War II film about two British escaped prisoners of war.-Plot:...
(also called The Beasts of Marseilles) included an almost identical character, Dr. Martout, played by James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
. The 2006 film Zwartboek, directed by Paul Verhoeven, is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands and includes among its characters a doctor who is "known" to the resistance as sympathetic to their cause. Ultimately he is revealed to have been working for the Nazis. Though offering an escape route for wealthy Dutch Jews
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the character in fact betrays them and steals their money.
The eponymous 1977 debut album by Univers Zéro
Univers Zéro
Univers Zero are an instrumental Belgian band known for playing dark music heavily influenced by 20th century chamber music. The group's name has had three variant spellings, the others being Univers Zéro and Univers-Zero....
inciudes a track named "Docteur Petiot".
See also
- Dr John Bodkin AdamsJohn Bodkin AdamsJohn Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
- Dr Thomas Neill CreamThomas Neill CreamDr. Thomas Neill Cream , also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-born serial killer, who claimed his first proven victims in the United States and the rest in England, and possibly others in Canada and Scotland...
- Dr Hawley Harvey CrippenHawley Harvey CrippenHawley Harvey Crippen , usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopathic physician hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, on November 23, 1910, for the murder of his wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen...
- Dr H. H. Holmes
- Dr William Palmer (murderer)William Palmer (murderer)William Palmer was an English doctor who was convicted of murder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century.-Early life:...
- Dr Maxim PetrovMaxim PetrovMaxim Vladimirovich Petrov is a Russian doctor and serial killer. He is currently serving a life sentence for killing 12 patients. The Russian media nicknamed him "Doctor Killer" and "Doctor Death".-Crimes:...
- Dr Harold ShipmanHarold ShipmanHarold Fredrick Shipman was an English doctor and one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history with 218 murders being positively ascribed to him....
- Dr Michael SwangoMichael SwangoJoseph Michael Swango is an American serial killer and former licensed physician. It is estimated that Swango has been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though he admitted to only causing four deaths...
External links
- Tomlins, Marilyn Z. Dr. Petiot Will See You Now in Crime magazine
- Marilyn Z.Tomlins website
- Newton, Michael Crime Library : Dr. Marcel Petiot