Pierre Fernand Bodein was born on December 30, 1947, in Obernai, France. He was the eleventh of sixteen children in a large Yenish family, a traveling community with a tradition of basket-making. His childhood was marked by poverty and instability. Bodein’s criminal tendencies emerged early, and in 1969, he received his first prison sentence. This would mark the beginning of a long history of criminal activity and psychiatric institutionalization.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Bodein spent alternating periods in prison and psychiatric hospitals. Convicted for theft, robbery, and sexual assaults, his behavior in detention was described as erratic and disturbing. In 1976, prison authorities deemed him "incompatible for detention" due to his severe mental health condition. Reports from psychiatric experts described him as catatonic, nearly vegetative, at times swallowing his own excrement and requiring a wheelchair for mobility.

Despite this state, Bodein showed moments of calculated behavior. Released in 1980, he quickly resumed a life of crime, engaging in robberies and assaults. In 1989, he was again institutionalized and considered mentally unstable by multiple psychiatrists. In December 1992, defying his apparent physical limitations, he escaped from a psychiatric hospital through a skylight.

Over the next three days, he terrorized the Alsace region, taking hostages, committing armed robberies, and engaging in violent standoffs with police. He raped one hostage, robbed a bank and an armory, and exchanged gunfire with gendarmes, seriously wounding one officer. The media dubbed him “Pierrot le fou,” comparing his unpredictable rampage to madness.

Convicted in 1994 and retried in 1996, Bodein’s sentence was reduced to 20 years. However, he adopted a model inmate persona, earning sentence reductions and remission for good behavior. On March 14, 2004, after nearly two decades of imprisonment, Bodein was released on parole and began living with his brother in Bourgheim.

Just months after his release, Bodein committed a series of brutal crimes that would shock France. Between June 18 and June 25, 2004, he kidnapped, raped, and murdered three females of varying ages, crimes that investigators later linked through DNA evidence.

June 18, 2004 – Jeanne-Marie Kegelin: The 10-year-old girl was kidnapped in Rhinau. Her body was discovered eleven days later, on June 29, in Valff. The investigation revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and killed, sparking nationwide outrage.
June 21, 2004 – Hedwige Vallée: A 38-year-old woman from Obernai was abducted and stabbed to death. Her body was found in Hindisheim the following day.
June 25, 2004 – Julie Scharsch: The final victim, a 14-year-old girl, was kidnapped in Schirmeck. Her remains were discovered on July 3 in Nothalten, showing evidence of violent assault and murder.

Initially arrested on June 26, Bodein was released due to insufficient evidence. Just four days later, mounting DNA proof and investigative leads led to his rearrest on June 30. Authorities suspected that his choice of victims might have been influenced by unresolved issues with his daughter and past interactions with a fellow prisoner, with whom he had exchanged obscene letters.

On April 11, 2007, Bodein’s trial began in Strasbourg, attracting intense media attention. The court heard disturbing details of his crimes, including the abductions, sexual assaults, and stabbings. Prosecutors highlighted his long history of violence and the failure of previous psychiatric assessments and parole systems.

On July 4, 2007, the jury sentenced Bodein to true life imprisonment, making him the first person in France to receive such a sentence, which legally excludes any possibility of parole. His appeals were rejected in 2008 by the Colmar court and again in 2010 by the Court of Cassation.

In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights reviewed the case, ultimately ruling that Bodein’s life sentence did not violate human rights standards, rejecting his claims of inhumane treatment.

The trial also examined the potential complicity of two Yenish associates, Fuhrmann and Remetter, in the kidnapping and murder of Jeanne-Marie Kegelin, but they were not convicted for their alleged roles. The Kegelin family publicly criticized procedural mishandlings that they believed hindered their ability to fully grieve.

Bodein remains incarcerated in France under a sentence of true life imprisonment, ensuring he will never be released.