Bio

Henri Girard was born in Alsace in approximately 1875 and trained as a druggist before abandoning that profession for work involving insurance and financial schemes. He was later described as an insurance broker who cultivated an elegant appearance and gained the trust of people whose lives he intended to insure. He had prior convictions involving lottery fraud and theft and reportedly served with the Paris ambulance service during the First World War.

Girard developed an interest in bacteriology and assembled a private laboratory containing scientific books, laboratory equipment, typhoid cultures and various toxic substances. Investigators also recovered insurance documents and a diary containing references to poisons, bacterial cultures, mushrooms and meetings with potential victims. He used false names and sometimes obtained insurance policies without the insured person’s knowledge.

Murder Story

Girard’s suspected scheme involved befriending people, arranging life insurance policies on them and ensuring that he or an associate would receive the benefits. Louis Pernotte and his family developed typhoid after Girard gained control of insurance policies on Pernotte. Although the other family members survived, Pernotte died after Girard reportedly administered an injection. Girard then collected insurance money.

During the following years, Girard was linked to several unsuccessful poisoning attempts involving Godel, Delmas and Michel Duroux. Some developed typhoid after dining with him, while Duroux reportedly suffered symptoms associated with mushroom poisoning. All survived and eventually ended their relationships with Girard.

In 1918, Girard targeted Madame Monin through fraudulent insurance policies. She died shortly after drinking an aperitif at his residence, and his rapid attempt to collect the policy proceeds alarmed insurers. Complaints led to his arrest on August 21, 1918. Searches uncovered bacterial cultures, poisons, medical texts, laboratory equipment and records documenting the insurance arrangements.

The investigation lasted 32 months and involved bacteriologists, exhumations and autopsies. Girard was committed for trial in April 1921 over suspicions that he had killed Pernotte and Monin and attempted to poison several others. He admitted insurance fraud but disputed the murder allegations. Some later accounts claimed that he confessed shortly before his death, although the surviving sources are not unanimous.

Girard died from tuberculosis in June 1921 before the scheduled trial. Four associates were subsequently convicted for their involvement in the wider fraud and poisoning scheme. Because Girard never stood trial, no court delivered a murder verdict against him.