Violette Nozière was born on January 11, 1915, in Neuvy-sur-Loire, France. She was a bright child and seemed to have a promising future ahead of her. As she grew older, however, her behavior started to change. Violette became wayward and her parents indulged her. She received an allowance, but she supplemented it with secretive acts of prostitution.

During her young adulthood, Violette contracted syphilis. When she fell ill, her doctor informed her parents about her condition. To cover up the truth, Violette convinced another doctor to declare that she was still a virgin. She told her parents this was the reason for her illness, claiming it was hereditary. Her parents believed her, and Violette was able to continue supporting her lifestyle without their knowledge.

There is uncertainty about whether she actually had syphilis. The test results she received could produce false positives, especially if the patient had tuberculosis, which she did. Violette had five children, which also raises questions about her diagnosis since syphilis can ease after some years.

On March 23, 1933, Violette Nozière bought a sleep-inducing drug called Soménal. She told her parents that it was medicine from their doctor to treat the family's syphilis. That night, she gave it to them. During the night, there was a fire in their home. Her parents suffered from smoke inhalation but did not die.

On August 21 of the same year, she attempted to poison them again with a larger dose of the drug. After giving them the dose, she left for the evening and went to a hotel. When she returned home, she found her parents motionless. To cover up her actions, she turned on the gas in the apartment. When the smell became strong, she went to a nearby apartment and claimed that she thought her parents had tried to commit suicide.

Her father, Jean-Baptiste, died from the poisoning, but her mother, Germaine, survived because she had thrown away part of the dose. The case attracted a lot of media attention. In the following year, Violette Nozière was convicted of murder and initially sentenced to death. Her sentence was later reduced to hard labor for life in 1934. Eventually, it was further reduced to 12 years in prison in 1942. She was released in 1945.