Pierre Voirbo

Murderer

1known / alleged victims

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Case Facts

Gender: male
Country: France
Location: Paris, France
Date of birth: ???
Characteristics: dismemberment
Victim profile: Desiré Bodasse (male, 72)
Method of murder: Beating with a flatiron
Date(s) of murder: December 14, 1868
Years active: 1868
Date of arrest: February 1869
Status: Died in custody
Committed suicide in his cell before trial, 1869

Case Summary

Case record: Pierre Voirbo

Background

Pierre Voirbo was a prime suspect after he had recently quarreled with the victim over money. Detective Gustave Macé went to question Voirbo and noticed that his lodgings had recently been cleaned. The cleaning woman said that Voirbo had done it.

The offence

The dismemberment of the victim was the central feature of the case.

A fabric package containing a decomposing male leg was located during the investigation. Detective Gustave Macé then pulled a second leg from the well, also wrapped in fabric.

Investigation

Blood found at the scene of the crime trapped many killers who thought they had removed all incriminating traces.

In 1869, Detective Gustave Mace interrogated a murder suspect in the room he believed had been the scene of a dismemberment. Convinced that a great deal of blood must have been shed, he looked about the room but saw no obvious traces. He then noticed a marked hollow in the tiled floor.

Detective Gustave Mace took a jug of water and tipped the contents on the floor. The water collected in the hollow area, and when the tiles were lifted their under-surfaces were found to be caked with dried blood. This discovery led to a murder confession by Pierre Voirbo and to a triumph of detection for Mace.

Separately, water from a well in the cellar of a restaurant had made several customers ill, and an investigation located a fabric package that contained a decomposing male leg. The investigation also led to Detective Gustave Macé pulling a second leg from the well, also wrapped in fabric.

Arrest

Detective Gustave Macé went to question Pierre Voirbo and noticed that his lodgings had recently been cleaned.

Detective Gustave Macé feared that any evidence he might have found in the lodgings had been lost. He then realized that the floors were tiled, with alleys between the tiles. He poured water on the floor to see where it ran, and then lifted the tiles in the area where it had pooled. Beneath them there was enough blood to indicate that something violent had occurred in that room.

Trial

Pierre Voirbo watched the incriminating demonstration and broke down and confessed. He committed suicide in his cell before trial, 1869.

Outcome

The case outcome included a murder confession by Pierre Voirbo following Detective Gustave Mace’s demonstration.

Aftermath

The confession was described as a triumph of detection for Mace.

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