The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-09-12 00:00:00

SENSATION I, TRAGEDY IN FRANCE.

M. Ludolc de Virvent, a young man of noble
family, in the Tarn, is now beiug tried at the Assize
Court of Albi for the murder of his mother, which he
is accused of having conunittsd in her chkeau of
Thuhalo, on Juno 29, 1834. On the morning of that
day Madame de Virvent was found by her maid lying
on the floor in a pool of blood. Her skull was
fractured, and, though alive, she could scarct•ly speak.
She did not die till the evening, and in the meantime
she told the magistrates, who speedily came to
examine her, that she had been attacked by an indi-
vidual who came into her bedroom with a lighted
candle, which he immediately blew out ; thee he then
threw a napkin over her head, struck repeated blows
with a hammer, dragg, d her by the feet into an adjoin-
ing room, and there, left her in a swoon. She declared
that she could not recognise the assassin. Neverthe-
less, the magistrates from the first suspected her son,
as it was found he had disappeared from a house he
occupied on Ma lame de Virvent's property at Rouaix,
no far from the elniteau. They believed that
the lady concealed the name of her murderer from
indelible maternal affection. According to the in-
dictment, Ludovic was an unpromising subject from
the beeinning. He was seven years at St.. Cyr, but
was idle and dissolute, and left without obtaining a
commission. Then he enlisted in the 59h Hussars
quartered at Lyons, but left the regiment as soon as
he rieuld without having gained promotion. On the
deeth of his father iniSSO he inherited jointly with
his sister—married to M. de Reyniond-Calnizac, a
e„entleinan of Toulouse—'s considerable sum of
money: but his share was inadequate to pay his
debts. He had a mistress at Toulouse, upon whom lie
lavished extravagant amounts. His mother, though
indulgent to weakness, tired at length of his frequent
demands for money, and joined 'ma family council to
place him under an interdict. The supposition is that
after the murder he robbed his mother's house of
money and securities. On July 28 he was arrested at
Bone, in Algeria, and brought to Lavaur prison, in the
Tarn. Interrogated by a judge of instruction, he
alleged that the murder was committed by one Dupuy
at his instigation, and that he gtve him 20 francs for
the job, and a key which enabled him to get into his
mother's room, where he purloined securities to
:
bearer 'to the value of 10,000 francs. As no such
person as Dupuy can be found, the prosecution insists
that Ludovic tie Virvent murdered his mother with
his own hand. From Lavaur prison he escaped on
October 15 in a most extraordinary manner with a
fellow prisoner, who was recaptured the next day.
He fled to Italy, where he lived some time under the
name of Donato, but in June of this year he had the
hardihood to come to Toulouse, where he sent a letter
by a porter to his brother-in-law, M. de Raymond-
Cahuzac, expressing deep repentance, offering to
disclose the names of his accomplices, and concluding
with a demand for money. He gave a rendezvous
which he did not keep, but a few days later M.
• -Cahuzac met him in the streets of Toulouse, and
arrested him with his own hand. Ludovic exclaimed
"Don't hurt me! Take my arm." The answer was,
"Take your arm, scoundrel! Yes, I will, and hold
it tight, too. Como along to the guardhouse." He
did not resist, although he is said to be a muscular
man of 28. M. Passama, Professor-of-Law of the
Catholic Faculty a Toulouse, appears as counsel for
the prisoner.