Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
One of the first serial killer couples in French criminal history was Marie Anne Martinel and Martin Dumollard from Montluel. They had devised a sophisticated tactic to rob young girls and then murder them. The couple would approach young girls at fairs and markets, claiming they could arrange well-paid jobs for them as maids. They would then arrange a meeting with the girls to discuss the details. When the girls set off with Martin to their supposed new job, Martin would overpower them and strangle them with a cord. Marianne would then steal their valuables and clothing, which she subsequently sold at the market. The dead girls were then disposed of in the local area. The series of murders took place between 1855 and 1861 and only came to an end when, on 28 May 1861, Marie Pichon managed to escape and immediately informed the gendarmerie. Marianne and Martin Dumollard were arrested on 2 June 1861. After Marie Pichon had clearly identified Martin Dumollard as her attacker and the gendarmes had found 1,250 items of clothing belonging to the murder victims during a search of the house, the trial of the Dumollard couple took place on 29 January 1862 in Bourges-en-Bresse before an audience of 4,000. Such was the public interest in this criminal couple, who had 12 young women on their conscience. Martin Dumollard was sentenced to death. An appeal he had lodged was rejected by the French Court of Cassation on 7 March 1862. His wife was sentenced to 20 years’ hard labour in quarries. On 8 March 1862, Martin Dumollard was publicly executed by guillotine. Beforehand, he had shared his last meal with his wife, which consisted of bacon, sausages, black pudding, mutton cutlets and roast meat. His wife died in 1875 in Auberive prison in Haute-Marne. To this day, the serial killer couple continues to fascinate people. The famous writer Victor Hugo even mentioned Martin Dumollard in his world-renowned work Les Misérables.
