Marie Besnard Essay

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Marie Besnard, also known as 'The Good Lady of Loudun', 'The Poisoner', and 'The Black Widow of Loudon,' was an accused serial poisoner in the mid 20th century. Besnard was first charged with multiple murder on July 21, 1949, under her given name, Marie Joséphine Philippine Davaillaud. After three trials that lasted over 10 years, Besnard was finally freed in 1954, then aquitted on December 12, 1961. The case attracted widespread attention throughout the country and remains one of the most mysterious in French legal history. Born in Loudun, France, Marie married her first cousin, Auguste Antigny, in 1920. The marriage lasted until his death from supposed pleurisy on July 21, 1927. When his body was eventually exhumed, 60 mg of arsenic was found in his remains. In 1928, Marie married her second husband Léon Besnard.When Léon Besnard's parents inherited family wealth, the couple invited them to move in with them. Soon thereafter, his father died, apparently from eating poisoned mushrooms. His mother followed three months later, as she became a victim of pneumonia. The parents' estate was left to Besnard's husband and his sister, Lucie, who was thought to have committed suicide a few months later. Around this time, on May 14, 1940, Marie Besnard's father Pierre Davaillaud also died, due to cerebral hemorrhage, although his exhumed remains contained 36 mg of arsenic. Shortly afterward, the Besnards leased rooms to a wealthy couple, the Rivets, who were friends of Marie's husband. Monsieur Toussaint Rivet died of pneumonia on July 14, 1939, although 18 mg of arsenic was later discovered in his exhumed remains. Madame Blanche Rivet died on December 27, 1941 from aortitis, although her remains contained 30 mg of arsenic. The Rivets' will had named Marie Besnard as their only heir.Wealthy cousins of Marie, Pauline Bodineau and Virginie Lalleron, had also named Marie as

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