PARIS — 1915 · Serial Murder

The Henri Landru case

SolvedSources: CLast updated: 14 October 2026

During the years of the First World War, Henri Landru placed marriage advertisements in French newspapers to target wealthy widows who had lost their husbands to the war. After seizing the women's assets, he made them disappear; none of the victims' bodies were ever found. The press called him 'France's Bluebeard' (the 'Lonely Hearts Killer'). Following the trial, he was found guilty of 11 murders and executed in 1922.

Date: 1915
Place: Gambais, France, Paris, FR
Category: Serial Murder
Case Status: Solved
Coordinates: 48.7833, 1.7167 ↗

Timeline of Events

1915The killing spree began
1919He was arrested

1921He was found guilty of 11 murders
1922He was executed

Sources

Court Records
Contemporary Press Archive

Source grade C: no linked source yet; details rely on the general press archive. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.