The Last Witch of Geneva

Josette Bauer was dubbed the last witch of Geneva because, to finance her lavish lifestyle, she had incited her husband to murder her father. But this was only the beginning of an incredible life story that offered everything that makes for a true thriller—from escaping prison and large-scale drug trafficking to becoming a spy. On the night of November 8–9, 1957, the fabulously wealthy businessman Léo Geisser was killed on Rue du Lyon in Geneva with seven stab wounds to the chest and back, as well as severe blows from a blunt object. Suspicion quickly fell on his daughter Josette, as she stood to inherit a considerable fortune. Josette was a young Lolita who, while still a teenager, married the bank clerk Richard Bauer—whom she called only Dicky—because she was expecting his child. The wedding took place on November 14, 1953, and served as an opportunity to escape her loveless family home. After her parents’ divorce, Josette was shuffled back and forth between them. Her father was constantly having affairs, and her mother could offer Josette no affection, only checks. After marrying Dicky, his father died, bringing them a windfall. But the inheritance was quickly spent, as Josette loved not only fast sports cars but also thoroughbred horses—both of which were expensive hobbies. So that they could continue living the high life, Dicky was supposed to murder her father. To do so, he traveled to Marseille to get a gun so he could kill Josette’s father. On November 8, the time had finally come: Dicky had killed his father-in-law. Josette was 21 years old at the time of the crime and out with one of her lovers. When Dicky confessed the murder to her, she admitted her affair and helped him cover up the evidence, which later proved to be her undoing during the murder trial. The investigation dragged on for two years until the Geneva law enforcement authorities had clear evidence that Dicky had murdered his father-in-law. The trial took place in the fall of 1959, during which Dicky took full blame, as he was completely devoted to Josette. However, the court found both spouses guilty of the murder of Léo Geisser, resulting in Richard Bauer being sentenced to 15 years and Josette Bauer to 8 years in prison in 1961. In prison, Josette discovered her attraction to women. In 1964, after serving two-thirds of her sentence, Josette was able to escape from the Bern Women’s Hospital with the help of her lover Claudine and a friend. Josette went into hiding for a full 17 years. During this time, she underwent facial surgery in Paris so that no one would recognize her. She then lived in Spain and Algeria, where she worked as a horse trainer. Josette subsequently worked for the French Connection drug trafficking ring. When she and petty criminal Willy Lambert smuggled 28 pounds of heroin into the U.S., both were arrested at Port Everglades in Florida. To avoid extradition to Switzerland and to secure a lighter sentence, Josette struck a deal with U.S. authorities. She offered information about the French Connection and its masterminds. As a result, she avoided extradition, and her sentence was reduced from 40 years to just 7 years in prison. After two years in prison, Josette escaped. The U.S. authorities did not pursue her and allowed Josette—who now called herself Jean Baker—to live with her girlfriend as a horse trainer in New Mexico and California. Everything seemed perfect. The U.S. urged Switzerland to withdraw its extradition request, as Josette was not safe from the drug mafia’s vendetta in Europe and because the FBI did not want to break its promise. Doing so could deter future whistleblowers. Then came a spectacular turn of events when, in 1981, the boss of the drug gang whom Josette had once betrayed died, so that she no longer had anything to fear. Moreover, Switzerland played a key role in the Tehran hostage crisis, which is why Josette Bauer was extradited to Switzerland, where she had to serve the remainder of her sentence. After serving her time, she presented her biography, “Une femme en cavale,” at the Geneva Book Fair in 2001 at the age of 65, where she was called a whore by the audience. The legacy of Josette Bauer—who was dubbed a witch and a harlot by the tabloid press at the time and who had driven men mad by every trick in the book—still lingered. For Josette Bauer had been a classic female victim of the tabloid press back then, whose life was as tragic as it was thrilling and continues to provide plenty of material for books and films to this day.