Imperial Valley press., 1922-03-03
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DEATH CAREER
|oE:NOEOON
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SCAFF FOLD
BY WEBB MILLER
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent

PARIS, March 3.-Lovcr of two
hundred and eighty-three women, de-
voted fianec of thirteen, cQld-bloodcd
murderer of ten of them, whose bodies
he was convicted of having hacked to
pieces and burned in "A cook stove
dutiful husband and father to his own
family-thcsc are the fantastic high
lights in the career Of Henri Landru,
the Blucbcard of Gambais Villa,
The most amazing character in the
criminal annals of Europe.
The bizarre drama of the crimes Of
Landru, which reads like bit of me
dicval fiction, extends over five years
and was enacted in the heart of ultro-
modern Paris.
Year after year Landru pursed his
grim business Of systematic wholesale
love making and murder. One by ono
his " fiancces disappeared forcvc".
The mysterious disappearance9 were
duly reported to the police by the re!a.
tiNes. But. each time the circum-
stances and the name Of s'thc man IN
the ease were different. The police
failed TO find a single cluc or to con
meet the disappearanccs as the crimes
of one man.
BY pure chance in April, 1919, the
sister Of one of the disappeared
fianccs saw Landru in the Rue Dc
Rivoli, followed him to his rooms, and
Informed the police. Without realizing
they had made one of the greatest
| catches in Partisan criminal history,
the police took Landru to thc station,
| On the way thc detectives perceived
Lau1ru attempting to throw away Il
| little notebook. That WAS the famous
g carnct'' containing the key to the
whole series Of startling crimes. With
out the Garnet it is unlikely that
the police could ever have fastened the
crimes on Landru.
AZ first the carnet' was a closed
| book to tho police. Lantru was under
an assumed name. lie had IA perfect
| ly plausible story. But he was held
on an old theft charge.
Finally in pulling over the meaning
! of the cryptic entries in the book, the
detectives comparcd the names With
| The ,list of scores Of disappeared wcm
tn, They were astounded to find tina.
ten Of the names in the notebook tai
| lied with those Of ten women who had
disappeared during four years since
! i9l5
From that moment the riystery wa
unraveled, stra,id by strand The in
vcs' igationS covered two wears OH'inl
to the fact, that Landru had lived il
eleven different places under at lcas
fifteen different names, the pole,
were confronted with great difficulty
Landrl maintained his attitude of sar
castle defiance. The police were un
able 10 extract anything from him.
Gradually the detectives pieccd to
gether the whole strange story OF the
operations and crimes Of the modern
BIuebcard,'' which kept France agog
more than two years.
Lahdru was the son of Il Respectable
PariSiCn business man who became III
sane in later life and committed sui
| eide in his youth Landru was studious
in his yosth Landru was studious and
and bright and evidently II normal
child. He was an altar.boy and later
rose to Il sub deaconship. As he at
tanned manhood, criminal tendency
manifested itself. IN the six years
preceding the war, Landru was con
victcd six times of petty frauds and
had served two brief terms in prison.
/ About the time of the outbreak Of
the war, landru hit upon the idea of
Wholesale lovemaking as business.