Patrick Henry was born on March 31, 1953, in Troyes, France. He left school at 14 and obtained a vocational certificate in cooking. Henry had a history of minor criminal offenses, including theft and fraud. By 1975, his business ventures had failed, and he was facing financial difficulties. He was known to the Bertrand family and had previously interacted with young Philippe Bertrand.

On January 30, 1976, Henry abducted 7-year-old Philippe Bertrand from outside his school in Troyes. He took the boy to a hotel room he had rented under a false name and strangled him shortly after the abduction. Despite the murder, Henry contacted Philippe's parents to demand a ransom of one million francs, pretending the boy was still alive. He even participated in the public search for Philippe and appeared on television, stating that those who kidnap children deserve death.

Henry was initially arrested on February 11, 1976, but released due to lack of evidence. On February 17, 1976, police discovered Philippe's body hidden under the bed in the hotel room rented by Henry. He was arrested while attempting to flee.

His trial began on January 18, 1977. The case garnered national attention, with public opinion strongly favoring the death penalty. However, his defense attorney, Robert Badinter, argued against capital punishment. On January 20, 1977, Henry was convicted of murder with aggravating circumstances and sentenced to life imprisonment, narrowly avoiding the death penalty.

During his incarceration, Henry pursued education, earning degrees in mathematics and computer science. He was paroled in May 2001 after serving 25 years. However, in October 2002, he was arrested in Spain for attempting to smuggle 10 kilograms of cannabis into France. His parole was revoked, and he was sentenced to four years in prison and fined €20,000. He remained incarcerated until September 15, 2017, when he was released due to terminal lung cancer. Patrick Henry died on December 3, 2017, in Lille, France.