The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1885-09-12 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

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 individual 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 adjoining room, and there, left her in a swoon. She declared that she could not recognise the assassin. Nevertheless, 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 indictment, 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 RaymondCahuzac, 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.