FULL TEXT (Article 1 of 3): A woman named Jeanne Gilbert is
under arrest in the village of St. Amand Montrond on suspicion of a series of
murders of relatives by poisoning. If the charges be proved against her they
will form one of the most terrible crimes in history.
In the village, and in the town of Bourges near it, the
belief in the guilt of Jeanne Gilbert is unanimous, and several efforts were
made to lynch her as she was taken to prison.
Jeanne Gilbert is a married woman with a fortune of £4000 of
her own. Her husband, a man in a good position, absolutely refuses to believe
in her guilt. He has closed all the shutters of his house and shut himself up
with his little daughter, refusing to see anyone. Jeanne Gilbert is thirty, and
has been married for ten years.
She is a good-looking woman, dark-haired and dark-eyed, a
good housewife, and until the deaths of many of her friends and relatives from
arsenical poisoning threw suspicion on her she was popular in the village. One
evening about two years ago M. Gilbert’s father, after eating some chicken
prepared by his daughter-in-law, was taken violently ill and died. A few days
later his wife was taken ill in the same way, and died within an hour.
In September, 1906, Jeanne Gilbert’s father, M. Girault,
received a present from his daughter of a plum tart made by her own hands. That
evening he died in terrible pain. Mme. Girault, Jeanne Gilbert’s mother, who
had also tasted the tart, was very ill, but recovered. Less than two months
afterwards she died, suffering from exactly the same symptoms as before, after
eating some grapes which her daughter had sent her. And a servant of the
Gilberts died in the same way a few weeks later.
In every one of these cases the symptoms were the same –
violent burning pains, uncontrollable sickness, and death.
On March 21, at about ten o’clock in the morning, Jeanne
Gilbert went to see her cousin, M. Pailot, whose house is some fifty yards from
her own. M. Pailot and his wife were at work in their vineyard. Jeanne Gilbert
passed through the empty house and joined them there, leaving them soon
afterwards.
When M. and Mme. Pailot and their son and daughter-in-law
returned to the house they found a large white cheese on the window-sill.
Thinking that it was a present from one of their relations, who had probably
left it there on finding no one at home, the whole family partook of it at
dinner. But soon after they were taken violently ill, and on Monday Mme. Pailot
expired, in spite of the care bestowed on her by her cousin Jeanne, who had
hastened to her bedside to nurse her on hearing of the occurrence.
The remainder of the cheese was examined and found to
contain arsenic, whereupon M. Pailot openly accused Jeanne of having done the
work.
In spite of her vehement protestations at innocence her
house was searched, and the discovery of a piece of brown paper, which proved
to be the other half of that in which the cheese was wrapped, led to her
immediate arrest.
Since her arrest Mme. Gilbert his maintained a calm
demeanour, and she declares that it is a pity, “such silly tales get about.”
Before going to prison she sent a wreath of flowers to “my beloved cousin,” but
it was returned by M. Pailot.
[“Rival of the Borgias. – Woman Accused of Poisoning Her
Relatives.” The Auckland Star (New Zealand), May 30, 1908, p. 15]
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FULL TEXT (Article 2 of 3): If all that is alleged against
her be true, then Jeanne Gilbert, a French peasant woman of thirty-two, must be
one of the most atrocious poisoners on record. She was brought up at the Assize
Court at Bourges on Monday, January 25, charged with having poisoned her
father, her mother, her mother-in-law, and a cousin, and with attempting to
poison five other relatives.
According to the prosecution, Gilbert did away with her
father and mother merely in order to get off paying to them a email annuity
amounting to £12, while she also made up her mind to inherit the property of
her relatives, which, as they were but struggling farmers and wine growers, was
very small in extent.
Her modus operandi was to send the deadly poison cunningly
concealed in tarts and other appetising dainties, which process went on during
a period extending over two years.
Her cousin, Mme. Pellean[sic], died in March, 1906, after
partaking of some cheese that had been left at her house by some person
unknown. All the members of the family were taken ill, but Mme. Pellean alone
died. It was found that death was due to arsenical poisoning.
About the same time a paper bag containing arsenic was found
close to Mm. Pellean’s house; this bag, it was discovered, was made from a
sheet from an account book belonging to Jeanne Gilbert it was further proved
that she had bought a large quantity of arsenic two months before, saying she
wanted it for killing rats.
Further inquiries showed how other relatives of Jeanne
Gilbert had died in suspicious circumstances, and how at various times, under
false names, she had purchased arsenic. Her father died after eating a plum pie
which Jeanne had sent him. A month later her mother died after eating some
meat, again supplied by Jeanne Gilbert.
When it was proposed to exhume the various bodies, Jeanne
professed to be greatly shocked. “You must not disturb the dead!” she said.
“You will bring ill luck upon us all if you do.” But the exhumations were made
and the poison was discovered.
Jeanne, who is a fine brunette, stoutly maintained her
innocence when arrested.
“I am innocent of everything I am accused of. I give you my
word of honour I am,” she said. In court she repeated tills asseveration and
denounced several witnesses as liars.
Prisoner was found guilty, and sentenced to penal servitude
for life.
[“Peasant Woman As Poisoner – Farmer’s Wife Charged With Causing
Many Deaths.” The Auckland Star (New Zealand),
Mar. 13, 1909, p. 15]
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FULL TEXT (Article 3 of 3): Jeanne Gilbert, the wife of a
farmer living near Bourges (France), was recently sentenced to penal servitude
for life for having murdered four relatives and tried to murder four other
persons by poisoning them with arsenic. The deliberations with which the crimes
were committed, and the callous attitude of the murderess, caused intense
public interest in the case, and Bourges was thronged with spectators during
the trial. Jeanne Gilbert was discontented with her life in the country, and
she deliberately poisoned her mother, her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, and
a cousin, in order to obtain small amounts of property in each case, with the
ultimate intention of leaving the district. She purchased quantities of arsenic
from a local chemist at regular intervals, and administered it to her victims
in home-made cakes and pastries. The four murders extended over a period of
more than two years, and when the bodies were exhumed and arsenic found in
large quantities the woman merely expressed surprise that traces of the poison
were discovered after so long a time. Before beginning her series of murders
the poisoner made a number of experiments on animals, and even killed her own
dog in order to observe the effect of arsenic.
[“Wholesale Poisoning.” The Colonist (Nelson, New Zealand),
Mar. 29, 1909, p. 1]
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VICTIMS:
Died: (4 deaths were attributed to her; some source name
among the dead a servant and her father, but it is for now presumed that the
following list is the most accurate.)
M. Gilbert, father-in-law (died circa 1906)
Mme. Gilbert, mother-in-law (died circa 1906)
M. Girault, father (died circa Sep. 1906)
Mme. Pailot (some sources: Pallot, Pellean), cousin (died in Mar. 1906)
Survived:
4 other persons whom she attempted to poison.
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[2198-4/20/19]
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[2198-4/20/19]
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