true crime

Papin sisters

  Christina Papin born March 8, 1905. Léa Papin born September 15, 1911.

--Life--

  Christine was born on March 8, 1905. However, her mother was considered not to be nurturing and deemed unsuitable for motherhood. Christine was given to her paternal aunt and uncle soon after birth. She lived happily with them for seven years. Léa was born on September 15, 1911, and given to her maternal uncle, with whom she remained until he died.

In 1912, when Émilia was 9 or 10 years old, it was alleged that Gustave had raped her. Clémence accepted that Émilia had seduced her father and sent her to the Bon Pasteur Catholic Orphanage, which was known for its brutality and discipline. Soon afterward, Émilia was joined by Christine and Léa, who Clémence intended would remain at the orphanage until age 15, when they could be employed.

In 1918, Émilia decided to enter a convent, effectively ending her relations with her family. As far as can be ascertained, she lived out the remainder of her life there.

During Christine's time at the orphanage, she also received the calling to become a nun. Clémence forbade this, instead placing her in employment. Christine had been trained in various household duties in the convent, easing her into becoming a live-in maid. Christine was described as a hard worker and a good cook who could be insubordinate at times. Léa was described as quiet, introverted, and obedient but was considered less intelligent than Christine. Employers were content with their work; however, Clémence was not satisfied with their pay and forced them to seek better-paid opportunities.

The sisters worked as maids in various Le Mans homes. They preferred to work together whenever possible.

-----crimes----

  In 1926, Christine and Léa found live-in positions as maids at 6 rue Bruyère for the Lancelin family; Monsieur René Lancelin, a retired solicitor, his wife Madame Léonie Lancelin, and their younger daughter Genevieve lived in the house (the elder daughter was married). After a few months of excellent service, Christine convinced Madame Lancelin to hire Léa as a chambermaid. The two girls dedicated their lives to working long days doing their job. However, some years after Christine and Léa started working for the family, Madame Léonie developed depression and the girls became the target of her mental illness. She began to scrutinize the cleaning and had become critical of the job done. There were various occasions of Madame Lancelin physically assaulting the girls. The abuse worsened: at its peak she would slam the girls' heads against the wall.

On the evening of Thursday, February 2, 1933, Monsieur Lancelin was supposed to meet Madame Léonie and Genevieve for dinner at the home of a family friend. Madame Léonie and Genevieve had been out shopping that day. When they returned home that afternoon, no lights were on in the house. The Papin sisters explained to Madame Lancelin that the power outage had been caused by Christine urinating into an electrical socket. Madame Lancelin became irate and attacked the sisters on the first-floor landing. Christine lunged at Genevieve and gouged her eyes out. Léa joined in the struggle and attacked Madame Lancelin, gouging her eyes out as ordered by Christine. Christine ran downstairs to the kitchen where she retrieved a knife and a hammer. She brought both weapons upstairs, where the sisters continued their attack. At some point, one of the sisters grabbed a heavy pewter pitcher and used it to strike the heads of both Lancelin women. In the midst of the rage, they mutilated the bottoms and thighs of the victims. Experts who later responded to the scene estimated that the attack lasted about two hours.

Some time later, Monsieur Lancelin returned home to find the house dark. He assumed that his wife and daughter had left for the dinner party and proceeded to the party himself. When he arrived at his friend's home, he found that his family was not there either. He returned to his residence with his son-in-law at approximately 18:30 or 19:00, where they discovered the entire house still dark except for a light in the Papin sisters' room. The front door was bolted shut from the inside, so they were unable to enter the house. The two men found this suspicious and went to a local police station to summon help from an officer. Together with the policeman, they responded to the Lancelin home where the policeman made entry into the home by climbing over the garden wall. Once inside, he found the bodies of Madame Lancelin and her daughter Genevieve. They had both been bludgeoned and stabbed to the point of being unrecognizable. Madame Lancelin's eyes had been gouged out and were found in the folds of the scarf around her neck, and one of Genevieve's eyes was found under her body and another on the stairs nearby. Thinking that the Papin sisters had met the same fate, the policeman continued upstairs only to find the door to the Papin sisters' room locked. After the officer knocked but received no response, he summoned a locksmith to open the door. Inside the room, he found the Papin sisters naked in bed together, and a bloody hammer, with hair still clinging to it, on a chair nearby. Upon questioning, the sisters immediately confessed to the killing.