Thierry Paulin

Case record: Thierry Paulin

Background

Thierry Paulin was born in Fort-de-France, Martinique on November 28, 1963. His father flew to France just after his birth, leaving his teen-aged mother to fend for herself and the baby. Paulin was raised in Martinique by his paternal grandmother, who owned a restaurant and allegedly paid little attention to her grandson.

When Paulin was ten, he started to live with his now married mother, trying to blend in with his step-brothers and sisters. His behavior started to become erratic and violent towards the other children. Eventually his mother asked his father to take their son to France. His father accepted in order to avoid paying alimony.

As a mixed-race student among white peers, Paulin had few friends and performed poorly at school, failing his exams. At the age of 17, he decided to enter military service early, joining the parachutists' troops. His fellow soldiers disdained him for his race and homosexuality.

Pauline became a waiter at the “Paradis Latin”, a night-club renowned for its transvestite shows. There, he started a career as an artist, dressed in drag and singing tunes by his favourite singer, Eartha Kitt. His mother was once invited to watch her son's performance, but she left the club a few seconds after the beginning of the act.

The most important event that happened to Paulin at the “Paradis Latin” was meeting Jean-Thierry Mathurin. The 19-year-old Mathurin was born in French Guyana and was a drug addict. Paulin fell in love with him and they soon became lovers. Paulin was also addicted, but less severely, and sold drugs as well.

Paulin became HIV-positive after spending one year in Fresnes prison. Knowing that he was in effect under a death sentence from AIDS, Paulin organized lavish parties, spending a lot of money and sparing no expense. He paid for these parties with stolen credit cards and checks, and with the proceeds from his murders. In early 1988, Paulin fell ill as his body began to succumb to the effects of AIDS. Within a year he was hospitalized in a state of near-paralysis, suffering from both tuberculosis and meningitis.

The offence

On November 14, 1982, Paulin robbed an old woman in her grocery, menacing her with a knife. The grocer knew him as a client, and he was soon arrested.

In October 1984, two elderly women were assaulted in Paris. Germaine Petitot, 91, survived but was too traumatized to give a detailed description of the criminals. Anna Barbier-Ponthus, 83, died after being beaten and asphyxiated beneath a pillow. Her murderer robbed her of 300 francs (about $50).

In October-November 1984, eight other old women were murdered, mainly in the 18th precinct of Paris, but in neighboring precincts too. Some reports allege that Paulin singled out women who seemed unpleasant or unfriendly when he engaged them in conversation, while Paulin himself told police that “I only tackled the weakest of them.”

The violence of the crimes was described as horrific: some victims had their heads stuck into plastic bags, some were beaten to death, and one was forced to drink drain cleaner. In all cases, the motive appeared to be robbery.

At the same time, Paulin and Mathurin were leading an extravagant lifestyle, spending their nights dancing, drinking champagne, and snorting cocaine.

The second wave of murders ran from December 20, 1985, to June 14, 1986, when eight more old women were murdered. In the new murders, the killer appeared to favor quicker, less cruel methods.

In the autumn of 1986, Paulin attacked one of his cocaine dealers with a baseball bat. The dealer went to the police, and Paulin was arrested. Paulin was sentenced to 16 months of jail for the assault, spending one year in Fresnes prison.

On November 25, 1987, Paulin murdered Rachel Cohen, age 79. On the same day, he attacked an 87-year-old woman, Rose Finalteri, whom he suffocated and left for dead. Two days later, he strangled Genevieve Germont, who would be his last victim. As Paulin celebrated his 24th birthday, Madame Finalteri unexpectedly recovered and gave an accurate description of her attacker, stating that he was:

“un métis d'une vingtaine d'année coiffée à la Carl Lewis, avec une boucle d'oreille gauche”

Between the years 1984 and the end of 1987, elderly women who lived alone in the Montmartre district were found murdered with their hands and legs bound, either strangled, stabbed, or beaten. One victim was almost cut in half, with over 60 stab wounds to her body, while another was forced to swallw bleach. Police surmised that the victims were all robbed for the meager Francs that they had in their possession. When the total number of victims rose from ten to twenty, the area was in a state of panic.

Investigation

Police gathered no less than 150,000 fingerprints but they never led to a capture. Authorities would later state that his prints were lost over the years, making it impossible to use them in their search. Police determined through fingerprint evidence that the perpetrator was the same individual who committed the 1984 murders.

However, in the new murders, the killer appeared to favor quicker, less cruel methods.

In December 1987, the authorities found a match. It was described as being due to the killer blundering by leaving his latest victim alive purely by accident. When the authorities questioned her, she gave an excellent description of her attacker.

Arrest

On December 1, Paulin was arrested while walking down the street when a local police inspector, Francis Jacob, recognized him from Madame Finalteri’s description. After two days in custody, Paulin admitted everything, including his involvement with Mathurin.

Trial

Only Jean-Thierry Mathurin was tried for the first nine attacks and murders. He received a life sentence, plus 18 years without parole.

Paulin was accused of committing 18 murders, though he claimed responsibility for 21. He was sent to jail awaiting trial. He is described as incarcerated while technically he was never convicted of the murders of which he was accused.

Sentencing

Mathurin received a life sentence plus 18 years without parole for the first nine attacks and murders.

Paulin was sentenced to 16 months of jail for attacking one of his cocaine dealers with a baseball bat, spending one year in Fresnes prison.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Paulin died during the night of April 16, 1989, in the hospital wing of Fresnes prison. He was reported to have died in the hospital wing during the night of April 16, 1989, and also that on April 16, 1989, Paulin died at the age of 26.

Aftermath

The 1994 movie “J'ai pas sommeil ( I Can't Sleep )”, by director Claire Denis (Chocolat, No Fear No Die), was based on the Paulin case.

Once in custody, Paulin cooley confessed with detached demeaner to 21 murders of elderly women. A detective who witnessed his confession stated:

“It was as if he were talking about going out to buy a pack of cigarettes.”

He detailed how they would choose a potential victim, then follow her home. Once at her door, the two men would then accost her, pushing her inside, where they would beat her until she told them where her money and jewelry was. For whatever reason, they always felt it was necessary to kill the women they robbed, for fear of identification.

Paulin implicated Jean-Thierry Mathurin. Mathurin was described as a fellow member of the local gay club scene, where Paulin would indulge in the seedy night life of drugs and sex. Mathurin confessed to helping in some of the murders but refused to speak Paulin's name out of disguist, referring to him as:

“the other one.”

After Mathurin’s involvement was addressed in court, he was described as still imprisoned for his participation in the string of murders, and seldom referred to as part of the killing tandem that terrorized the area of Montmartre in the late 80's.

Other details

Paulin was born in Fort-de-France, Martinique and died in Fresnes prison in the hospital wing. His relationship with his father was described as involving the father taking him to France to avoid paying alimony.

In 1984, Paulin learned that his mother and her family now lived in Nanterre, a northern suburb of Paris, and went there to live with them; his relationship was hostile. His plan to start his own firm of transvestite artists failed in autumn 1985.

In late November (after early violence and the relationship with Mathurin), Paulin and Mathurin decided to go to Toulouse to stay for a few months at the home of Paulin’s father. The elder Paulin was unable to accept his son's lover, and violent fights ensued, ending when Paulin and Mathurin broke up. Mathurin returned to Paris while Paulin tried to start his own firm of transvestite artists.

The police were unable to identify the killer during the first series of murders though investigators had a few clues.