The Washington times., 1922-10-22
ARCH SLAYER CALM
AS HE MEETS DEATH
UNDER GUILLOTINE
Ever ON Guard, Landru Refuses to Break
Before Police Questioning, But Stupidity
Displayed i'm Certain of His Activities Prove
His Final .UndOing-FaceS End Silently,

A curious and mysterious cir
cumstancs occurred three days
after the Court Of Cessation had
given it, decision. Maitrs Moro
Giafferi received . letter. signed
by one Hector vigoureux. stating
that at midnight. three days after
Landru's arrest, he was passing
the cemetery at Gambais--which
Is quite close to The Hermitage"
with only q field between--when
he saw an idiot. well-known in the
district. whom he referred to as
p" the son Of a welI-known
local family-who had since died
60 to q corner of the graveyard,
where some human bones. taken
from an old grave, were lying.
and. by the aid of lantern, select
some fragments. place them in a
box, and carry them to Landru's
garden! To relieve his conscience
the writer now made the state
ment, and also enclosed a plan OF
the villa, the cemetery, and the
route taken by the idiot.
Investigations quickly followed
Four persons. named Vigoureux.
were found to be living In the
vicinity. but nobody called Hector:
while the only idiot known was
named "B-" and not P"
Though every effort was made
to clear up the strange, fantastic
story. 1t still remains a mystery.
A fact well-known to psycholo
gists is the kink in the criminal
mind which sometimes causes the
evil-doer to preserve souvenirs of
his crimes. It was so In Landru's
case. A careful study Of his whole
career brings US to the conclusion
that his crimes were neither those
Of madness, passion, nor genius
but savored more Of stupidity. As
one writer has truly declared. he
murdered by arithmetic, and his
arithmetic was wrong. He planned
everything, and the plan was IN
its nature unsound. And none of
the applause which was given to
his ingenuity. his audacity. his
courage and his wit should blind
US to the fact that below all this
glitter was the mind Of a fool.
even though he was the greatest
love.criminal the world has ever
known.
CATALOG INCOMPLETE.
1t is quite apparent that Landru
bought his famous kitchen-stove
for the villa at Gambais with the
intention Of cremating his victims,
but he quickly discovered that It
was too difficult to generate such
intense heat as to completely de.
stroy the evidences of his crimes.
hC IOooEIcu 10 OIneE
means which have already de-
scribed. No doubt he did actually
burn a skull and portions Of the
bodies Of three distinct victims.
as the human teeth and fragments
OF bones which we discovered in
the debris beneath the concrete
floor Of the clubhouse testify. But
who they actually were remains
still a mystery. Further, Il is not
known how many women Landru
killed at the instisation Of the
matchmaking gang headed by the
fellow Blaisot, or what was the
amount Of his actual gains.
The catalog of the monsters
crimes here given Is certainly not
complete. We know that over 200
Of the women to whom he made
love escaped him, but how many
died at his hands only he himself
could disclose.
The knowledge that murder will
out. and that the wheels Of justice
grind slowly. but they grind small.
makes audacious and callous crimi-
nails such as Landru exceedingly
rare. Happily, II has occurred to
few men. indeed. to establish muir.
der as a trade by which to gain a
livelihood. as did the notorious
monster whose name will 70 down
to posterity as The Worlds
Greatest Love Criminal"
THE END.