New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-01
JOSEPH TACHER GUTLLOTINED.
END OF A FRENCH MURDERER WHO
KILLED MORE THAN A SCORE

the Ripper" was gul.lotined at Bourg-en-bresse'
capital Of the Department of Ain this morning
He protested his innocence and simulated INSANITY
to the last. Vacher. who was twenty-n'ne years
old. condemned at the October Asszes a. a
He was tramp, and Is known TO nave w. ~ tS
many men, boys. women and girls Alost ua t ha
victims tending herds when Nacher came De-
hind them and cut their throats
The crimes OF Joseph vacher have surpassed In
number and atrocIty those OF the Whitechapei muir
dered known as Jack the Ripper" His homicidal
mania first broke ont seriously In 1894. He SAID
after his arrest that every action has an CD
ject and as his motive was neither theft nor
vengeance his responsibility was established.
Physiologcaily physicians have regarded the case
as Interesting. II was shown that WAGNER hau
been confined In asylum for the insane anu
that while doing military duty a love anar c'useu
him to attempt his sef-destruction by shootms
The victims Of Vacher were shepherds and shep-
herdesses and his rage was particularly directed
agalns, young girls. He first cut the throas II MS
victims with a knife. and afterward mutiated tneh
with a razor. lie arrested last year after the
police had searched for him for long time IN
vain In defence OF Vacher II was pointed out mat
when n youth he was bitten by mad dog. and mat
the village herbast gave him some medicine. after
drinking which he became strange, irritable ana
brutal whereas he had previously been quiet ana
inoffensive 1t also appears from these statements
that from that time he developed passion for hu-
man blood.
Referring to his crimes. vacher is quoted as
saying
'.My victims never suffered. for while l throtted
them with one hand I simply took their lives with
a sharp instrument in the other am an Ahar-
chis and am opposed to society, no matter what
the form OF government may be"
This desperate criminal was vain. and fancied
himself hero. He refused to speak about his
crimes except on two conditions. one that
the full story of his murders be published In the
leading French papers. and the other was that ne
should be tried separately for each crime IN the
district where it committed. The exact Num-
Der of Vachers victims will never be known. but
II is said that twentythree demonstrations had been
brought home to him In october last. and the
number was added to time wore on In fact, II
il doubtful whether the murderer himself knew
the real number Of his victims. He nonchalantly
told the story Of some fresh tragedy from time to
time 10 the examining magistrate as the details
came back TO his mind, and in each case the In
vestigatiou has furnished full confederation Of
Vacher's narrative. The bodies In each were
found In the places he indicated-in lonely thickets
or in unused wells. He seems to have killed merely
for the sake of killing.
Born near Lyons. vacher served his military
term in a regiment Of zouaves and showed him.
self to be good soldier much so that he was
made a non-commissioned officer although there
were complaints against him Of being brutally
severe TO recruits. recruit. a member OF we'll
known French family. told how Vacher once
abused him 80 terribly the battle-ground that he
lost his temper and sprsnS at the non-commis-
stoned officer Happily for The recruit. he was
seized by his comparIions before he succeeded In
striking vacher, otherwise the young man would
most likely have been sentenced to death by a
court mar tial IT shortly after Nacher left
the service that he became ill., owing 10 dsap-
pointment In love affair. and attempted TO blow
out his bruins with revolver. The bullet
l.ta nj ding to
one report the wound produced recurrent fits OF
insanity and caused him 10 be confined In an asylum
for the insane at Dole. The physicians, however.
released him because they were afraid of an out
cry In the press against the arbitrary confinement
of a citizen under the pretext that he was insane,
although the physicians were well aware that ne
was not in condition 10 be at large. since thdt
time and until his arrest vacher appears 70 nave
leaving TRAN OF blood behind him. He was un-
detected and unsuspeced until by mere ac on
seems 10 have been seized with frenzy after at
lacking his victims. as he cut and slashed them
horribly and often dsmembered them Vacher
a clean-iooking shirt which the murderer coveted.
and he admitted that he sometimes murdered poo
pie because he needed money and food
one of the remarka bic features OF this extraor-
binary was the clever manner In which Nacher
Abont TWO gears ago he murdered shepherd boy
a country road few miles from lyons hacked S ,
his way The murder was discovered within a few
minutes afterward. and search for the murderer
was promptly instituted In all directions. with the
result that a gendarme mounted on bicycle. over
took vacher and called upon him TO produce his
nnded over to the police officer his discharge as
non commissioned officer from regiment OF
Why, that is my old regiment" exclaimed tn, the
gendarme II am hunting for a man Who has Just
cut "a hoy's throat. Have you seen any suspicious
character . , o,,, 90,
saw man running across the fields to the north'
about a mile back from here.
THANK YOU" cried the gendarme. III be after
him The gendarme then hurried of after the
imaginary murderer and the real culprit quietly
Nv iucky chances some Of Vachers would-be VIC
tins escaped him. A boy, thirteen years Old
Farrand one day in October year ago. when he
sa an ugly looking grnning tramp approach nm nm
Sa' Ms hand The boy was alarmed. and. as the
stranger came nearer, Rodier ran away. but the
r"ItP Bitter cold why don't you light fire? II
YOU want matches can give you some 49,,
"a q" 1on't come after me but keep on the path"
Vacher however. kept closing up on the boy ana ,ha
tho latter ken, backing away until he reached me
brow Of a hli where man and woman were dig
gng When Xach s, saw 1nsm ne hmRng there
was something wrong about the tramp Ihe nan
order 70 be ready for the worst. whereupon Nacher
This is horrid country The people are worse
than dogs I have been fasting for two days ana
nobody has offered me a crust ,, 49,,
Only about twenty minutes before Vacher . hh hd
murdered Rosine Rodier. the sister OF the BOY ne ne
hoJ been chasing. girl fourteen years or age
,vbnse body was not found until a week later
On another coca sion three or -four women IN turn
ESCAPED him Mime. Marchand identified Vacher
ae "a man who attacked her on the road near
LYONS AT Easter. 1895. while she was returning
from market after having soid ZONE orais ~
" srher crept I'D behind her and seized her by the
throat but she struggled violently scratched her
ssoai.,t's face and succeeded in screaming. Her
ontcry was heard by several persons, but before
thev reached her Vacher had escaped The same
n crnoon ne attacked three other women IL the
same manner and they all escaped him IA Nine
Marchand did. , ,,, ,a. ,,o
uarouis de Villeplalne who was killed while Walk
Ing I'm his park in the southwestern part or france
ne, for from the Spanish frontier. Nacher cr'pt
nm behind him feed him with a heavy STICK ana
then cut his throat. The murderer carried on me
coat of the MARQUIS and his pocketbook containing
some bank notes. lie then sought refuge In spain