Marcel André Henri Félix Petiot (*January 17, 1897, Auxerre – †May 25, 1946, Paris) was a French physician and serial killer.
During the German occupation of France in World War II, he gained the trust of refugees in hiding by offering to help them escape the country. Instead, he murdered the refugees in his home and robbed them. He was convicted of killing at least 27 people, including an entire family.
1. Early Life
Marcel Petiot was born on January 17, 1897, in Auxerre, France. Reports claim that he displayed delinquent behavior during his childhood and adolescence, although these claims may have been fabricated posthumously. On March 26, 1914, a psychiatrist diagnosed him with a mental disorder. Petiot was expelled from school several times and completed his education at a special institution in Paris in July 1915.
During World War I, Petiot was drafted into the French infantry in January 1916. He was wounded in the Battle of the Aisne, suffered a gas attack, and exhibited symptoms of a nervous breakdown. He was sent to various convalescent facilities, where he was arrested for stealing army blankets and imprisoned in Orléans. Diagnosed again with multiple mental illnesses in a psychiatric hospital in Fleury-les-Aubrais, he was returned to the front in June 1918. Three weeks later, after shooting himself in the foot, he was transferred to another regiment. A subsequent clinical diagnosis led to his discharge, and he was awarded a disability pension.
2. Professional Development
After the war, Petiot enrolled in a fast-track program for war veterans, completing his medical degree in just eight months. He began working as an intern at a psychiatric hospital in Évreux and received his medical degree in December 1921.
Petiot moved to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, where he treated patients and received payments from both individuals and state medical assistance funds. During this period, he also began using addictive narcotics.
His first known victim may have been Louise Delaveau, the daughter of an elderly patient with whom he had an affair in 1926. Delaveau disappeared in May, and neighbors later reported seeing Petiot load a large trunk into his car, resembling the one in which Delaveau’s body was eventually found. However, police dismissed her disappearance as a likely case of elopement.
In the same year, Petiot ran for mayor of the town, employing a campaign manager to handle debates while he avoided direct confrontation with opponents. He won the election. Once in office, Petiot embezzled municipal funds.
In 1927, he married Georgette Lablais, and in the following year, their son Gerhardt was born.
Numerous complaints about his thefts and questionable dealings were filed with the local prefect. In August 1931, Petiot was suspended as mayor and subsequently resigned. The town council resigned in solidarity. Five weeks later, on October 18, Petiot was elected as a councilor for the Yonne district.
In 1932, Petiot was charged with stealing electrical power in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne and lost his council seat. He subsequently moved to Paris, where he built a new medical practice at 66 Rue Caumartin by using fake credentials and crafting an impressive reputation. Rumors of illegal abortions and excessive prescriptions of narcotics soon emerged. In 1936, he was appointed a médecin d’état-civil (civil physician authorized to issue death certificates). That same year, he was briefly institutionalized for kleptomania but was released the following year.
After the outbreak of World War II and France’s fall to Germany, Petiot began issuing fake medical certificates to French citizens to help them avoid forced labor in Germany. He also treated workers returning from Germany.
In 1941, he purchased a house at 21 Rue le Sueur.
In July 1942, Petiot was fined 2,400 francs for excessive prescription of narcotics, despite two key witnesses against him disappearing. Petiot claimed to have developed secret weapons that could kill Germans without leaving forensic evidence and fabricated stories about working with Allied forces and resistance groups.
3. The False Escape Network
Petiot’s most profitable operation was a fake escape network called “Fly-Tox.” Under the alias “Dr. Eugène,” he charged 25,000 francs per person for a supposed safe passage to South America via Portugal. He accepted anyone who could pay, regardless of whether they were Jews, resistance fighters, or criminals. His accomplices Raoul Fourrier, Edmond Pintard, and René-Gustave Nézondet brought him victims. Petiot would inject his victims with a lethal dose of cyanide under the guise of administering vaccinations required by Argentine authorities. He initially disposed of the bodies in the Seine River but later resorted to dissolving them in quicklime or burning them.
Petiot’s mistake was failing to remain discreet. The Gestapo likely knew about his activities, and by April 1943, they had learned about the false escape network. A Gestapo agent coerced a prisoner, Yvan Dreyfus, into using the network, but Dreyfus disappeared. Eventually, an informant infiltrated Petiot’s operation, leading to the arrest of his accomplices. Despite torture, the accomplices revealed only that “Dr. Eugène” was Marcel Petiot. In January 1944, the Gestapo released them, lacking further evidence.
4. Discovery
On March 6, 1944, neighbors noticed a foul odor emanating from the chimney of 21 Rue le Sueur. When they tried to report it on March 11, they found a note on the door stating that the occupant would be away for a month.
The neighbors alerted the police, who contacted Petiot, who asked them to wait for his return. When police arrived 30 minutes later, they had to call the fire department due to the increasing smoke. Firefighters entered through a second-floor window and discovered dismembered bodies and human remains.
Upon Petiot’s arrival, he claimed to be a member of the French resistance and that the bodies were those of traitors and collaborators. Skeptical but unwilling to act against a supposed resistance fighter, the police let him go. Further searches uncovered more body parts in quicklime pits and sacks on the staircase.
5. Investigation
Inspector Georges-Victor Massu led the investigation, initially trying to determine whether Petiot was working for the resistance or the Gestapo. This question was resolved when he received a German telegram ordering Petiot’s arrest as a “dangerous lunatic.”
Police searches of Petiot’s former home uncovered large quantities of poisons and narcotics. Witnesses identified Petiot as someone who had offered them escape routes for 25,000 francs. Additionally, police linked Petiot to the disappearance of two witnesses from his 1942 drug case.
Petiot’s brother Maurice admitted to delivering quicklime to his brother’s home. Both he and Petiot’s wife, Georgette, were arrested, along with his accomplices.
6. Flight and Capture
Petiot went into hiding for seven months, claiming the Gestapo was after him for killing Germans. Under the alias “Henri Valeri,” he joined the resistance group Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur (FFI), becoming a captain in charge of counter-espionage and interrogations.
After a newspaper article exposed him, police renewed their search. On October 31, 1944, Petiot was recognized at a Paris metro station and arrested. He was found carrying a pistol, 31,700 francs, and 50 identification documents.
7. Trial and Conviction
Petiot was held in La Santé prison and maintained his innocence, claiming he only killed enemies of France. He was charged with 27 murders, though he admitted to 19, asserting they were collaborators. His lawyer, René Floriot, tried to portray him as a resistance hero, but the court was unconvinced.
On April 4, 1946, Petiot was sentenced to death. On May 25, 1946, at 5:06 a.m., he was executed by guillotine, marking the first such execution in Paris since April 30, 1944.
