Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-03-02
GUlLL0TINE CLAIMS HEAD
OF FRENCH BLUEBEARD
HsnrLlaHaFs Pays Penalty for Series
of Foulest Murders In French
Criminal History

Nersailles.-Henri Desire Landru
"Blueheard OF Gambais." convicted o
the murder of 10 women and on,
youth, gave his life Saturday In ex
change for IL he had taken.
Mysterious until death. Landru re
sented Father LoiSalless- query as Il
whether he had any confession L
make.
1T IS nm insult To n mar like me-
was his reply Had l aHs-eeHfessfUu t.
make ! would have made II long ago.
But never did he utter the word an.
1ocent.". as he had failed 10 utter II
turing his "a months of. Imprisonment
ttd tire Al dHyS of frf~ t#iaI.
He refused the sacrament. but con.
versed a few mnmentswit the priest,
Il shall be brave. never fear" he
told the clergyman.
Although plans far the execution had
een-kePt-iH TIT fftr- trtmuyt secrecy.
,rowds began to gather about the old
Versailles Jail a little after midnight.
rhe elatter Of cavalry horses along
Georges %clemenceau street. In which
The execution took place, was plainly
audible In Landru's cell. and when he
aweke he heard the sound Of hammers
as wOrkmem erected "timbers Of Jus.
tice" by the Pickering light Of two
square. old-fashioned candle lanterns.
The g~uillotine was erected only a
few feet from the main entrance To
the jail. At @ o'clock the doors Of the
prison opened slowly. revealing in the
court yard the p%rOcurator general. the
warden Of the prison and Landru's two
lawyers. NJ. Moro-Giafferl and VI. Du-
treuit
Then Landru appeared clad In dark
trousers and white shirt. His beard.
was one of his most striking
characteristics. and which had become
to the thousands through pub.
LEGATION OF his portrait during the
rial, had been trimmed his head was
and his neck and face were
pale.
The executioner's assistants caught
him around the waist and lexelied him
on the table. which was Immediately
n%pended, the heavily weighted knife
lid down and sthe whole affair was
in less than 20 seconds Landru
never falfered from the time he ap-
Deared in the door he gave the guill0
Inc m look, squared his shoulders
md walked erect. uttering not a word.
The crowd. which had been kept a.
Iuch a distance that 1t saw nothing of
he details. uttered no cry. and the ST.
ence was only broken by the bugIes
sounding ~revelIle in the nearby bar
acks. and the Angelus bells.
Then the hundred or more news
correspondents and the few off
fafs who had Witnessed the execution
eft the scene. while outside the llnes
+ cavalry. many persons were asking
was 1t all over?'
Henry Desire Landru. the blue
card OF Gambais." was arrested on
april 4. 1919. on il counts Of murder
out of the disappearance of
boy and 10 rome to whom he had
romised marriage. The charmer OF
SO women Of all ages from 20 to 60.
many OF them foolish and wealthy
yidows. was born in Paris in 1850. He
Tas a mechanical engineer and had
cen we'll educated.
LaDdru had previously engaged the
ttention OF the police through his
winding operations. for which he was
entenced to prison for a term Of four
He was married and had two
children. He was a dark-vis-
ged man with shining bald head and
ing black whiskers. and during the
OF his trial for murder, which
asaH Nov. I, 1921, before the Yer
allies assIzes. and ended the follow. J
g, November 20. he participated :
-Mnaticniiy in hfsIown defense. =