1902 Man of Many Crimes

# Man of Many Crimes.

Here are two articles with the same headline but are about different moments in the case about a vintage serial killer who often appears in vampire books.

## Astounding Confessions

In: DAILY.

MAN OF MANY CRIMES.

ASTOUNDING CONFESSIONS BY THE RIVIERA ASSASSIN.

The revelations about the “man of many crimes” are indeed becoming astounding.

Henri Vidal, the culprit, was examined by the magistrate at Nice on the charge of murdering Gertrude Hirschbrunner at Eze.

He confessed to the murder, and also to four other crimes of which he was accused, and it is evident that he is one of the most terrible vampires of modern times.

The list of crimes at present brought home to him is as follows:

(1) Antonia Van Brusseim, murdered at Tamaris.

(2) Marie Arnoux, murdered at Malmousque.

(3) Louise Guinard, attempted murder at Marseilles.

(4) Josephine Mareno, attempted murder at Nice.

(5) Gertrude Hirschbrunner, murdered at Eze.

He is also suspected of various other minor crimes - such as robbery.

Very careful investigations have been made into the circumstances of each of these crimes, and the motive, in every case, seems to have been sheer robbery.

With regard to the Tamaris murder, Vidal appears to have left his mother’s house at Hyeres and met his victim at Toulon, whence he took her to Tamaris, and while strolling in the forest after dinner Vidal murdered her by a stab in the neck. He then searched her pockets, but found no money. He pawned a poor little ring of hers, however, for 3s 4d.

The case of attempting to murder Louise Guinard was somewhat similar. Vidal also stabbed her in the neck. but not fatally, and when she screamed he ran away. He denied this crime at first, but afterwards admitted it, together with the others.

**MURDER IN A TRAIN**.

The Eze murder, it will be remembered, took place in a railway compartment between Mentone and Monte Carlo. Poor Gertrude Hirschbrunner had been to visit a friend, and on her return journey, about nine at night, Vidal entered the same carriage, which was afterwards found to be terribly bespattered with blood. The girl’s body was discovered on the line, and also the murderer’s hat, which has since been traced to Vidal by the man who sold it to him at Marseilles.

Another murder to which this extraordinary criminal has confessed is that of Marie Arnoux. She was his mother’s servant at Hyeres, and having saved £16, she went to Marseilles on a visit to her parents. Vidal left for the same place on the same day. Her body was found in the sea off Malmousque. She had been murdered, robbed, and thrown into the sea. To add to his horrible crime, Vidal went straight from Marseilles to Vichy, where Marie Arnoux’s sister lived, and borrowed £4 from her.

Another attempted murder was that of Josephine Mareno at Nice, which was on precisely the same lines as that of Louise Guinard. Vidal stabbed her, she shrieked, and he fled. In this case, too, his designs of robbery were foiled.

It is a curious fact that in each instance the murderer, or would-be murderer, as the case might be, was undiscovered, and the crimes had in fact never been associated as the work of one and the same man; for, although there were similarities, no one conceived that a man could be so atrociously perverted as to be guilty of all.

**AN ABNORMAL CRIMINA**L.

But Vidal seems to be in several ways abnormal, although it has yet to be proved that he is not accountable for his actions. It appears that he suffered from typhoid fever when he was 16, and his mother avers that his brain has never recovered completely.

A few years ago Vidal went out to the Sudan in the employ of a French gold mining company, and there are many stories of his cruelty, avariciousness, and apparently criminal neglect of his European companions.

It is said that when one of these, named, Lelievre, was ill with fever Vidal refused to give him any quiaine, of which he had a supply, and even stole his money during his delirium. He was also charged with robbing natives.

in 1900 Vidal was employed as clerk at the Hotel des Bains, in the French watering place of Allevard (Isare), and in the following year he returned and worked as a grocer. He made many enemies because of his intractable character.

It was at this place that he bought the knife with which he assassinated Mile. Hirschbrunner. His mother keeps an hotel at Hyeres.

-“Daily Mail.”

### Print Info

* 1902 Feb 15 tE Man of Many Crimes
* Examiner
* Sat 15 Feb 1902
* Vol LXII No 40 Page 5
* MAN OF MANY CRIMES.
* Author: Article reprinted from the Daily Mail / No Author

### Citations

* Article identifier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35475509
* Page identifier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page2999946

**APA** MAN OF MANY CRIMES. (1902, February 15). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 5 (DAILY.). Retrieved March 3, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35475509

**MLA** “MAN OF MANY CRIMES.” Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) 15 February 1902: 5 (DAILY.). Web. 3 Mar 2019 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35475509>.

**Harvard/Australian** 1902 ‘MAN OF MANY CRIMES.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), 15 February, p. 5. (DAILY.), viewed 03 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35475509

## Sentenced to Death

Man of Many Crimes

In: SECOND EDITION

Five Murders Brought Home

Sentenced to Death.

LONDON, November 6.

   Henri Vidal, who was arrested at Nice in January last on the charge of murdering and robbing several women, and who was described as a degenerate, has been tried and sentenced to death. The prisoner on being arrested, confessed to having murdered three of his former sweethearts, and attempted to murder a fourth, and was supposed to have been implicated in several similar; crimes.

After the conclusion of the trial a crowd of 5,600 (5,000?) persons attempted to seize the criminal with the object of lynching him, but he was protected by the gendarmes.

A Paris telegram to the “Daily Mail” dated January 9 was as follows : —

The revelations about the “man of many crimes” are indeed becoming astounding. Henri Vidal, the culprit, was examined on Wednesday by the magistrate at Nice on the charge of murdering Gertrude Hirschbrunner at Eze. He confessed to the murder, and also to four other crimes of which he was accused, and it is evident that he is one of the most terrible vampires of modern times.

The list of crimes at present brought home to him is as follows : —

1. Antonia van Brusselm, murdered at Tamaris.

2. Marie Arnoux, murdered at Malmousque.

3. Louise Guinard, attempted murder at Marseilles.

4. Josephine Mureno, attempted murder at Nice.

5. Gertrude Hirschbrunner, murdered at Eze.

He also is suspected of various other minor crimes, such as robbery. Very careful investigations have been made into the circumstances of each of these crimes, and the motive in every case seems to have been sheer robbery. With regard to the Tamaris murder, Vidal appears to have left his mother’s house at Hyeres, and met his victim at Toulon, whence he took her to Tamaris, and while strolling in the forest after dinner Vidal murdered her by a stub in the neck. He then searched her pockets, but found no money. He pawned a poor little ring of hers, however, for 3s. 4d. The case of attempting to murder Louisa Guinard was somewhat similar. Vidal also stabbed her in the neck, but not fatally, and when she screamed he ran away, ho denied this crime at first, but afterwards admitted it, together with the others.

### Print Info

* 1902 Nov 7 TT Man of Many Crimes Sentenced
* The Telegraph
* Fri 7 Nov 1902
* No. 9350 Page 4 Second Edition
* Man of Many Crimes Sentenced to Death.
* No Author / Author not given

### Citations

* Article identifier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172585523
* Page identifier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page19022482

**APA** Man of Many Crimes. (1902, November 7). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 4 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved March 3, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172585523

**MLA** “Man of Many Crimes.” The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947) 7 November 1902: 4 (SECOND EDITION). Web. 3 Mar 2019 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172585523>.

**Harvard/Australian** 1902 ‘Man of Many Crimes.’, The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), 7 November, p. 4. (SECOND EDITION), viewed 03 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172585523