Bio

Jean-Claude Romand was born on February 11, 1954, in Clairvaux-les-Lacs, France. He had what he later described as a happy childhood. He was a quiet child and performed well in school. His parents were supportive, and he felt he received a lot of love from them. He studied at the lycée of Lons-le-Saunier and did well enough to pass his baccalauréat, a significant academic milestone in France.

After finishing high school, Romand enrolled at the classes préparatoires at the lycée du Parc in Lyon in 1971. However, he dropped out after just one semester, supposedly due to health problems. He then enrolled in medical school. In his first year of study, he missed an exam paper and failed the year by a narrow margin. Instead of admitting this, he chose to tell his family and friends that he had passed.

For twelve years, Romand continued to pretend he was a medical student. He borrowed notes and lecture handouts from classmates and attended classes, but he never actually took the exams. Friends and family believed he was a successful medical student. They never realized that he had never qualified as a doctor.

To maintain his deception, Romand invented a job. He claimed to be a researcher at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. Romand created an impressive backstory, stating he specialized in cardiology and even had connections with prominent figures. In reality, he spent his days wandering, often close to the WHO building, and he fabricated business trips. Instead of working, he would stay in hotels near the airport, study medical journals, and enjoy his time away from home.

Romand supported his life through money he received from his wife, savings from selling an apartment, and funds he obtained by tricking relatives into believing he was investing their money. He told them about high returns on imaginary investments. As time passed, Romand's web of lies grew, and he struggled to keep up the facade he had built.

Murder Story

On January 9, 1993, Jean-Claude Romand made a fateful decision that changed many lives forever. He withdrew 2000 francs to buy a handgun, silencer, and gas canisters, then wrapped them up as gifts. That night, he attacked his wife while they were in bed, beating her to death with a rolling pin. He left her body there and went to sleep as if nothing had happened.

The next morning, he woke his two children, Antoine, age 3, and Caroline, age 7. They had breakfast and watched cartoons together. Later that night, after they had gone to bed, he shot both children in the head.

Later on, Romand felt that his parents, who were proud of him, could expose him. On January 10, he visited them and shared a meal. After eating, he shot them both and the family dog.

The same evening, he picked up his ex-mistress, telling her he wanted to take her out for a romantic dinner. He pretended their car had broken down and made her exit the vehicle. He then tried to strangle her with a cord and sprayed tear gas in her face. However, she managed to fight him off. He drove her back home, then returned to his own house.

Back home, he watched television and poured petrol around the house. He set the house on fire and took a large number of sleeping pills in an attempt to appear as if he were committing suicide. He was rescued by firefighters who arrived at the scene early the next morning.

Authorities initially thought Romand was too traumatized to speak about the events. However, as investigations continued, the true sequence of events came to light. Following his trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on July 6, 1996, with no possibility of parole until 2015.