THE FRENCH “BLUEBEARD”

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 54, 26 November 1921, Page 7

THE FRENCH “BLUEBEARD”

EVIDENCE OF EXPERTS. (Rgc. November 25, 8.50 p.m.) Paris, November 24. The trial Of Landru was continued fo T day. The court was like an anatomical museum while the’ experts gave evidence regarding bones fojind at Gambats—fragments of.alleged skulls, reduced to a .fine powder, which were under glass and hermetically, scaled. The exhibits also included - garters,.'buckles, hairpins, dress fasteners, . arid bits of surgical saws, traces of which the experts declared could be seen in fragments of Ixmes. -The poli'ce, however, admitted that the bone.s were found ; during tb.e second visit to the villi, after they had failed to find anything the first time. Dr. Paul gave evidence that two hundredweight of ashes liad. been passed through a sieve. The ashes contained 5 per cent, of phosphate chalk, instead of the normal percentage of one-half. Landru explained that, this was due to large quantities of. oysters which hnd been burned in the stove. Thw ashes contained 256 fragments of bone, of which 150 were fragments of human skulls, and the rest portions of a hand and. feet, and the remains of forty-seven teeth. Other police evidence showed that it was possible to destroy a hundredweight of flesh in the stovo in 24 hours. Landru’s counsel asked why' no grt-asy soot was found in the stove if eleven corpses had been burnt in the stove. The Advocate-General interrupted, saying that, there was no question whether eleven, corpses had been burnt, only parts of. certain bodies.

The experts’ evidence was highly technical, and the jury was visibly bored, liindru, however, followed the experts closely, and frequently interposed questions and explanations—A us.-N.Z. Cable Assn.