Almost Perfect Crimes: Martin Dumollard – The Maid Killer

This series investigates the most notorious, infamous and terrifying crimes in French history. Cases that – in may cases – inspired films and novels. Join Danielle Thiéry, the first female chief superintendent, on a journey to the dark side of human nature.

At the start of the Second Empire, near Lyon, Martin Dumollard, a miserable peasant, targeted young servants, taking everything from them and murdering several. This would earn him the nickname of the ‘monster of Ain’ between the years of 1855 and 1861 and his murders caused quite a commotion. He attacked young women who he had lured in with the promise of a decent job with high wages. He sought out his victims in Lyon on the Pont de la Guillotière. It was the assault of Marie Pichon on 26th May 1861 that put the police on the trail of Martin Dumollard. Upon his arrest, the raid on his house held a surprise for the investigators.

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