Bernard Pesquet

Bernard Pesquet (18 March 1922 – 10 May 2009), known as The Landru of Val-d'Oise, was a French serial killer who killed at least six people between 1941 and 1976.

Bernard Pesquet was born on 18 March 1922, in Heugleville-sur-Scie.

When his mother died, he was brought up by his maternal grandfather until 1931, after being relentlessly rejected by the latter's partner.

In 1936, at the age of 14, Bernard Pesquet was sent to boarding school for a period of four months.

His first job was in a glass factory, but gave up after a year.

In 1938, at the age of 16, Bernard Pesquet joined his uncle in Rouen to become a cook, but quit his job a month later.

On 29 September 1939, he was arrested on charges of shoplifting but was later acquitted.

On 18 March 1940, his 18th birthday, Bernard Pesquet passed his radio electrician exam.

He obtained his emancipation and then moved into a two-room apartment, 95, rue aux Ours, which he made both his home and his workshop.

In the district, Pesquet is nicknamed "the little electrician".

In June 1940, Pesquet was required to work at the German Soldier's Foyer.

Every morning, a black front-wheel drive comes to pick it up in order to carry out several repairs in the various depots and buildings in the city.

Bernard Pesquet did his job with the awareness and skill that everyone knows.

Pesquet, tossed about by events that go beyond him, seemed not to ask himself any questions, so others described him as "mysterious".

From time to time, Mr. John Anderson comes to see him at his home, under various pretexts.

In 1941, at the age of 19, Bernard Pesquet met a certain Julien Quibel, a young man in his twenties, who quickly became his lover.

Pesquet later explained that he had discovered that Quibel was a collaborator on the side of the Germans.

On 22 August 1941, in Rouen at around 11 p.m., Bernard Pesquet beat Julien Quibel to death with an iron bar and slashed his veins with a razor.

Having no possibility of defending himself against his lover, Quibel died of his wounds.

The body was found the next day, not far from Pesquet's home.

Bernard Pesquet was, at the time of the facts, 19 years old and was quickly suspected by those close to Quibel because of their romantic relationship.

Arrested on 25 August 1941, Pesquet played against the police.

It was not until the third day of his custody that he confessed to having killed Quibel.

Pesquet specified that he killed Quibel to steal his savings and his money, because he collaborated with Germany.

He was imprisoned for the assassination of his friend.

He was then 19 years old.

Bernard Pesquet, being over sixteen at the time of the facts, faced the death penalty, even if it had little chance of being applied because Pesquet was still a minor at that time (the majority being fixed at 21 years old).

On 8 November 1941, Bernard Pesquet was sentenced to hard labour for life.

As a minor, he escaped the death penalty.

At that time, life imprisonment did not allow the possibility of release.

Bernard Pesquet expected to die, during his life sentence of hard labour.

On 18 March 1943, Bernard Pesquet reached his majority.

At the start of Pesquet's incarceration, France was at war and many prisoners were starving to death in detention.

However, Bernard Pesquet managed to survive these daily famines, due to his young age.

Having retracted his crime in the meantime, Pesquet also requested a review of his trial on 28 December 1944.

On 8 May 1945, as World War II ended after a long-term journey, prison conditions improved for Pesquet, then 23 years old.

The young inmate subsequently received the result of his request from the court of revision which, considering Bernard Pesquet's retractions as a means of release, rejected Pesquet's request in July 1945.

In 1951, the sentence reductions were introduced.

Pesquet had already served ten years in prison, when he was only 29 years old.

Spending a total of 53 years behind bars, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the latter murders, dying in prison in 2009.